Inside the Trump-led deal toward peace in the Middle East

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday pulled back the curtain on how President Donald Trump helped secure a historic peace deal between Israel and Hamas.

Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, Rubio said it was “not an exaggeration that none of it would have been possible without the president of the United States being involved,” because Trump built coalitions and charted a new course.

“It really began with your trip to the Middle East (in May), where these relationships were forged with partners in the region – personal relationships, close relationships, that created the foundation where all of this was possible,” Rubio said. 

Then in late September at the United Nations, “you convened an historic meeting, not simply of Arab countries, but of Muslim majority countries from around the world –Indonesia was there, Pakistan was there – and created this coalition behind this plan.” 

“That following Monday, you met with the prime minister of Israel here, and that plan was presented. And then, of course, our great negotiating team followed up on it in the interim.” 

Israel and Hamas agreed to phase one of a peace deal Wednesday that will see the release of all remaining Israeli hostages after two years in exchange for Israel withdrawing its troops from Gaza to an agreed-upon line. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire. 

Rubio said that although some of the stories “will never be told” of what was said in the negotiations, they required “a high degree of intensity and commitment.” 

Then he heaped on the praise: 

“Yesterday was a human story, and because of the work you put in – and honestly, there is no other leader in the world that could have put this together, Mr. President. Frankly, I don’t know of any American president in the modern era that could have made this possible – because of the actions you have taken unrelated to this, and because of who you are and what you’ve done and how you’re viewed. 

“And this weekend, because of that, at some point very soon, we are going to see 20 living human beings emerge from the darkness into the light for the first time in two years. And that is because not only (did) you use the credibility and the power and the prestige of this office and the relationships you created, you committed yourself to making it happen. And I think it will go down as a historic moment in the history of our country and something our country should be very proud of, that we have a president that’s committed to not just peace, but to the human aspect of reuniting these families.” 

“I just hope the whole nation understands how incredibly proud they should be of their president and of their country for the role that they played,” he concluded. “Thank you for what you’ve done for the world.” 

Ever the businessman, Trump responded with, “Thank you very much. I appreciate it,” then gave orders for speakers to keep it short in light of the busy day, but members weren’t done. 

“I just want to double down on what Marco was sharing,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “It’s such a remarkable accomplishment. Agreed that no other president could have done this.” Burgum added that Trump restoring strength to the military and using tariffs to negotiate with other countries bolstered the U.S. in the Israel-Hamas negotiations and could help end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said military enlistments and re-enlistments were already shattering records and said it was “a personal honor to be able to witness the way you lead and negotiate. I wish people had a full understanding of what that looks like, that historic nature. 

“Never thought this kind of peace would be possible. Yet with your strength, with your ability to wield trade negotiations, personal relationships to open up. That opportunity is truly historic on the world stage, and it creates a whole number of other cascading effects.” 

Vice President JD Vance followed up with his own commendation – and threw in a jab at Chuck Schumer. 

“For months, the fake news media attacked you, attacked the entire team, attacked your approach,” Vance said. “The definition of insanity is do the same thing again and again, expecting a different result. The reason we’re here is because the president actually charted a different course with a different team. He vested a lot of authority in (Middle East envoy) Steve Witkoff in particular, and that’s why we’re here. It’s because you did something different. And I think it’s important to recognize that.” 

Then Vance explained how Trump’s New York background meant he knew “a lot of people who are very pro-Israel. I think that was an important set of life experiences that he brought to the table. He also, of course, knew one of the most famous Palestinians, Chuck Schumer,” Vance said, to an outburst of laughter from the Cabinet, since the New York senator is Jewish.

Vance then said Schumer is saying privately the government shutdown is good for Democrats, but it’s cutting off money for the low-income food program WIC, which serves women, infants and children. 

“My mom actually used (it) when I was a baby,” Vance said. “There are Americans that are going to suffer because Chuck Schumer refuses to do his job.” 

The stalemate over the government shutdown, which started Oct. 1, remains a point of contention, even as Trump’s peace deal has received praise from both sides.

Photo Credit: The White House