Trend Lines

The usually warm relationship between the United States and Jordan has come under strain during President Donald Trump’s time in office. Jordanian leaders have criticized many of Trump’s policies in the region, especially his support for Israeli settlements in the West Bank, his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and his one-sided proposal for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. It was no surprise, then, that Jordan’s King Abdullah II was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Joe Biden for his victory over Trump in last month’s presidential election. And in a phone conversation with Abdullah last week, his first with an Arab leader, Biden told the king that he hopes to cooperate on pursuing “a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” It remains unclear, though, just how much of a priority that will be for Biden as he enters office with a herculean to-do list. This week on Trend Lines, WPR’s Elliot Waldman was joined by Marwan Muasher, a former fore