(JNS) Among the some two-dozen 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has sought to position himself as a consensus moderate backing long-held positions within the party. But even with a long track record of executive experience, campaigning this way in such a crowded field that seems to be shifting leftward makes it increasingly difficult to stand out.
“I don’t support anti-Jewish language or sentiments from anybody. We’re a country of free speech and sometimes that line can be blurred,” Hickenlooper told JNS.
Hickenlooper said that the last several years has made the U.S.-Israel relationship “dramatically more partisan.”
“We don’t have to agree with every action of every Israeli government to recognize that Israeli people deserve real security, and part of that translates into making sure that we speak out at every opportunity against hateful rhetoric and to say that the actions … and some of the language that fire up hatred toward the Jewish community in this country is unacceptable.”
On foreign policy, Hickenlooper spoke about his stances regarding Trump’s decisions on Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and regarding the current tensions with Iran.
“I believe that the embassy should stay in Jerusalem, which will remain (in whole or part) the capital of Israel under the two-state solution which I (and every prior American president) have supported,” Hickenlooper told The Hill in June.
Along with Hickenlooper, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Marianne Williamson, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand have stated that, if elected, the embassy would stay in Jerusalem.