Well, even though on our political side we want to see that done, there is a “rhyme and reason” why the Presidents haven’t done this.
The USA has been in the position of being a mediator (of sorts) in the negotiations that are supposed to go on between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and one of the theoretical issues in the negotiations is going to be the status of Jerusalem, even though Israel has ruled it out. The USA has to go through the motions of not being “on a side” if they are, at the same time, going to be a mediator. To place the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem would be to prejudice the negotiations on one particular point.
Here’s what I would predict for this. When the final status negotiations are completed, then you’ll see the USA placing their embassy in Jerusalem.
So did Republican presidential candidates know this and lied about it when running? Or were they so out of touch that they really didn’t know this?