CNN commentator: Trump’s aid warning over UN vote ‘diplomatic prostitution’

A CNN commentator on Thursday slammed President Trump’s warning that he would cut aid to countries that voted to condemn the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying it amounted to “diplomatic prostitution.”

Phil Mudd, a CNN counterintelligence analyst and former deputy director of the CIA’s Counterterrorist Center, predicted that the U.S. would not pull funding from countries like Egypt, which helps the U.S. combat terrorists, for its participation in the United Nations vote demanding the Trump administration rescind its Jerusalem decision. 

“Do you think the president’s going to get on the phone and say because of one vote that’s non-binding in the U.N. we’re going to back down on our partnership with you as you kill ISIS partners in Egypt? That is not going to happen,” Mudd said on CNN.

“Let me be blunt here, Wolf. This is diplomatic prostitution,” Mudd told host Wolf Blitzer. “We’re telling people, unless you vote with us, we’re not going to give you money and if your heart doesn’t agree with American policies we’re not going to support you in terms of U.S. aid.”

“It’s not going to happen. The Americans aren’t going to do it, and the president’s not going to back it up.” 

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Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital angered key allies, who voted with the majority of the U.N. General Assembly to condemn the move, which broke from decades of U.S. policy.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley warned members that the Trump administration will remember being “singled out for attack” when it is asked “once again to make the world’s largest contribution to the United Nations.” 

Haley also defended Trump’s promise to eventually move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, a decision she said embodied the desires of the American people.