United States Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkof, ‘is clearly out of his depth’ — and is hurting America, according to conservative commentator John Fund.
In a National Review column Monday, Fund questioned the capability and competency of the ‘real estate investor and golfing buddy’ of President Donald Trump.
“Witkoff, nominally the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, has become Trump’s all-purpose emissary for almost all of today’s key foreign policy issues,” penned Fund.
“One day he is meeting with Vladimir Putin to settle the Ukraine conflict, the next he is negotiating with Hamas to urge the group toward a cease-fire with Israel and, a few days later, he is interacting with the Iranians on their nuclear weapons program. Witkoff’s travel schedule is often busier than that of a secretary of state or CIA director.”
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Witkoff won Trump’s trust by negotiating the release of some of the Israeli hostages from Gaza, as well as a U.S. citizen held by Russia.
Not since Jared Kushner “has anyone in Trump’s circle been given so long a leash to negotiate on behalf of the U.S. Witkoff has walk-in privileges to the Oval Office, books himself for TV and podcast interviews, and works out of the West Wing rather than the State Department,” wrote Fund.
The conservative commentator then slammed Secretary of State Marco Rubio because Witkoff is doing the shuttle diplomacy that has always gone with the Secretary of State role.
Fund claimed this isn’t even the most "eyebrow-raising" problem. “Consider just the most recent of Witkoff’s freelance gaffes: In an interview with Fox News Sunday last month, he admitted that he may have been 'duped' by Hamas during the hostage negotiations.”
Fund suggested, "Perhaps one priority [for Rubio] should be to direct special envoy Witkoff to less-treacherous diplomatic waters."