Why do Evangelical Christians love that President Trump moved the capital of Israel to Jerusalem?

This appeared in The Millennial Source

During a campaign stop on August 17, President Donald Trump told supporters the decision to move the United States embassy in Israel to Jerusalem was “for the Evangelicals.” Looking to shore up his base for the 2020 election, Trump has been making efforts to showcase his accomplishments. With the economy reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, though, he has had to highlight other achievements.

When the US formally moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018, it was reported as a decision that pleased Israel but angered Palestine and other Arab nations in the region. As Trump indicated in his speech, though, “the Evangelicals are more excited by [the move] than Jewish people.” It is a typically bold assertion from the president and one that is probably correct.

Moving the US embassy in Israel

In December 2017, Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in a speech he gave at the White House. In doing so, he also announced that the US would be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He said when the new embassy was complete, it would “be a magnificent tribute to peace.”

In reality, Trump’s decision was met with anger around the world, specifically in Arab and Muslim nations. While Israel has long held that Jerusalem is its capital, the city is also the location of important Islamic and Christian sites.

The United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 established the state of Israel within what was then Palestine (Israel was officially recognized as a nation the following year). The plan further designated Jerusalem as an international city, held by neither Israel nor Palestine.

In 2017, when the US brought a resolution to the UN to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, it was roundly rejected. Only nine countries — among them the US and Israel — supported Trump’s proposal, while 128 countries rejected it and 35 abstained from the vote.

Nonetheless, the US went forward with moving its embassy to Jerusalem. With thousands of Palestinians protesting, the embassy opened on May 14, 2018…