Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will have a fresh chance to prove his foreign policy chops with a trip to Israel this week.
The likely Republican presidential contender said Saturday in South Carolina that he and his wife were raveling to the country later that day and would meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the trip.
“Really, for us though, we wanted to make it an educational focus, not just a media trip,” Walker said.
The Republican Jewish Coalition, the group backed by GOP billionaire donor Sheldon Adelson, is footing part of the bill for the trip, while Walker’s political group, Our American Revival, is paying the rest. RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks tweeted Sunday that the governor visited the Western Wall and met with an Israeli human rights activist.
“Hitting the day running on first day in #Israel w/ @ScottWalker -visited the Kotel, Christian holy sites and Old City,” Brooks tweeted.
The trip offers Walker the opportunity to burnish his national security chops, which even his own advisers have privately admitted are lacking. During his trip to England in February, Walker drew criticism for dodging foreign policy questions, and a month later came under fire for comparing ISIS to union protesters and suggesting if he could handle the latter, he could just as easily handle the former.
As with his trip to the UK, Walker hasn’t taken a traveling press corps with him to Israel, and his staff have offered few details on his plans there. He promised on Saturday he would update supporters on what he learns when he returns on Thursday.