Former Secretary of State John Kerry
John Forbes KerryBooker is latest Dem to seize spotlight Feehery: Oprah Dem presidential bid unlikely Dem hopefuls flock to Iowa MORE is considering a second run for president in 2020 to take on President Trump
Donald John TrumpTrump: If there's no wall, there's no DACA fix Trump appears to call out Samsung over missing FBI text messages Trump Commerce pick told lawmakers he would look at reversing Obama move on internet oversight: report MORE, according to comments reported by the Israel newspaper Maariv.
According to the report, Kerry told Palestinian officials that he was strongly considering a run in 2020, and hinted that Trump will likely not be in office much longer in strongly-worded conversation Wednesday.
"Hold on and be strong,” Kerry told the interviewer, a close associate of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, adding that he should tell Abbas "that he should stay strong in his spirit and play for time, that he will not break and will not yield to President [Donald] Trump’s demands.”
The former top U.S. diplomat also commented on the ongoing efforts of the Trump administration to negotiate a peace plan between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and suggested that Abbas present his own peace plan in the wake of the White House's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December.
“Maybe it is time for the Palestinians to define their peace principles and present a positive plan,” Kerry suggested.
Kerry previously ran for president in 2004, against President George W. Bush who was running for his second term in office. Kerry lost the general election with 251 electoral college votes to Bush's 286. He later became the final secretary of state to Bush's successor, President Obama.
In December, Kerry admitted that he considered running for president in 2016, but eventually decided against it.
“For a minute or two, maybe somewhere along the line, it crossed my mind — possibly,” Kerry told the Boston Globe.
“But there are a number of reasons why I dismissed the idea. And I’m glad. I think it was right. I never really thought that seriously about it.”