John Kerry was famous for being the Democratic presidential candidate who was “for it before he was against it,” and now, he seems to be “for it” again, reportedly saying in a secret meeting with a Palestinian operative that he is thinking of challenging President Donald Trump in the 2020 race for the White House.
Kerry hinted during a recent meeting with a close associate of Palestinian boss Mahmoud Abbas that he might throw his hat in the ring for a second time in an act of “resistance” to Trump, according to the Jerusalem Post.
According to a leaked account of the meeting, Kerry told Abbas aid Hussein Agha that the Palestinians need to “hold on and be strong” because soon Trump will be gone. Kerry reportedly added that Abbas should “stay strong in his spirit and play for time, that he will not break and will not yield to President Trump’s demands.”
Ever imagining that he is the one man who can broker a long-dreamed-of peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Kerry added that it was time for Abbas to present his own peace plan. “Maybe it is time for the Palestinians to define their peace principles and present a positive plan,” Kerry purportedly said.
Kerry, who took over as Obama’s secretary of state when Hillary Clinton vacated the position, confided that deep state insiders in the Department of State and the U.S. intelligence community do not like President Trump. He also allegedly urged Abbas to launch personal attacks on Trump meant to enrage the president and force him to make errors.
The failed 2004 Democratic candidate for president also said he does not feel his advanced age is a problem for another bid for the White House. Were he to actually win the presidency in 2020, Kerry would be 77 years old on inauguration day, and that would make him the oldest president in U.S. history.
Kerry’s alleged assurances to the Palestinian strongman that the U.S. would soon be able to acquiesce to Palestinian Authority demands are reminiscent of the time then-President Barack Obama was heard on an open mic assuring Russian President Dmitri Medvedev that after he was safely re-elected, he would be better able to bow to Vladimir Putin’s demands.
The former Massachusetts senator’s secret visit aimed at undermining U.S. foreign policy in favor of an enemy is also reminiscent of another Massachusetts senator’s secret efforts to aid an enemy. In 1983, Sen. Ted Kennedy sent overtures to the Soviet Union promising his help in undermining the policies of President Ronald Reagan if only the USSR would, in return, help him launch a successful bid to beat back Reagan’s re-election and place Kennedy in the White House.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.