Trump picks anti-Islam, pro-Israel Republican Wesley Hunt as next ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Submitted by Elis Gjevori on Wed, 09/16/2026 - 15:30 Trump’s nominee has called Israel America's 'one true ally' in the Middle East, and warned that even Abraham Accords signatories can't be trusted

US Representative Wesley Hunt speaks during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 15 July 2024 (Getty Images via AFP) Off

US President Donald Trump has nominated the anti-Islam, pro-Israel Republican Wesley Hunt as the next American ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

The choice announced on Monday comes at a fraught moment for US-Gulf relations, months after the US and Israel launched their war against Iran and as the conflict continues to destabilise the region and the entire global economy.

Hunt, a staunch Trump ally, served in the US military in Iraq, flying 55 combat missions as an Apache helicopter pilot in Baghdad in 2006, before spending two deployments in Saudi Arabia as a diplomatic liaison officer.

Hunt has repeatedly invoked his time in Saudi Arabia to rail against Muslims and Islam.

“I’ve lived in Saudi Arabia for two years. I’ve deployed to Iraq. I have seen firsthand what it looks like to live in countries governed under systems like Sharia law,” he said last November.

In January, he doubled down on his comments, saying people who dismiss his warnings on Islam as fear-mongering "have never lived under it”.

“I’ve seen what that system looks like in real life, not on cable news. Public beheadings happened there not long ago. Women couldn’t even drive when I was stationed there,” he said.

During an appearance on Stakelbeck Tonight in January 2026, Hunt said Americans should be “extremely concerned” because “the mandate that's been given to Islam is to basically go to other countries and infiltrate them”.

He added that Muslims would build a large population and eventually take countries over.

The New Yorker, while covering the Texas elections, said Hunt and his Republican rivals had been “targeting Muslims in their rhetoric”, while Houston Chronicle columnist Chris Tomlinson accused Hunt and other Texas Republicans of “stoking fears of Islam”.

Edward Ahmed Mitchell of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Action (Cair) said the candidates were competing over “who can be more anti-Muslim” and trying to “stir up more fear of Texas Muslims in order to win votes”.

Hunt has also warned that people coming to the US could “import systems that destroy communities”.

'Israel put the Judeo in the Judeo-Christian'

A strong supporter of Israel, Hunt spoke at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) event in 2022, where he said the US had “really one true ally” in the Middle East, “and it’s Israel.”

Hunt tied that trust to what he described as Israel’s “Judeo” background.

UK Lawyers for Israel calls to proscribe Doctors Without Borders as terror group Read More »

While praising the Abraham Accords and calling for more normalisation agreements, he warned that Washington should remain wary even of countries that had signed the deals.

“Just because we have something set up like the Abraham Accords - which I think is good for the entire world, especially for the region - we cannot let our guard down,” he told Aipac.

According to Track AIPAC, which monitors the influence of the Israeli lobby in US politics, Hunt has received $139,862 from groups that are part of the pro-Israel lobby, including Aipac, AMP, the Republican Jewish Coalition and USI.

In May 2024, Hunt told Fox News, while arguing for continued US support for Israel: “Keep in mind, Israel put the Judeo in the Judeo-Christian.”

So far, Saudi Arabia has not reacted to Hunt’s appointment, which will also require a Senate confirmation hearing.

US Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0