President Donald Trump has concluded his tour de force trip through the Middle East, where he secured hundreds of billions in investment from Saudi Arabia. The release of American Edan Alexander from Hamas custody was another win. In the backdrop, it reminded the region that the Abraham Accords still exist, and more nations are welcome to join. The Village People being played after Trump’s speech was fantastic.
.@KatiePavlich explains the impact of Saudi Arabia’s $600B investment:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 13, 2025
– Expands the Abraham Accords by encouraging more countries to join
– Brings PEACE to the region by bringing BUSINESS to the region
– Sparks Americans entrepreneurial spirit
– Brings other countries into the… pic.twitter.com/JYnTlcQl6i
YMCA plays as President Trump is joined on stage by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) May 13, 2025
Amazing finish to an incredible summit meeting! pic.twitter.com/yZl9l8NwEg
Trump got things done. Biden could not. He didn’t have the mental ability or the brain trust, and Axios found former Biden officials who admitted that some begrudgingly so. The usual clowns will dismiss this trip as not diplomacy. These are the same people who couldn’t do anything for four years, so their opinions are irrelevant. Jake Sullivan is one of those people; the man couldn’t assess that Biden was mentally cooked. He likely could but isn’t saying so, which makes him a liar, but we digress. These ex-Biden aides were aghast that Trump could do things at such speed (via Axios):
.@POTUS is greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 🇺🇸🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/81qUv6hi7D
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 13, 2025
The Beast pulls up to the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NSxhzaFk5o
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 13, 2025
.@POTUS greets Saudi officials at the Royal Court in Riyadh pic.twitter.com/YPwnqEHHrU
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 13, 2025
AXIOS: “Biden officials ‘awed’ by Trump’s rule-breaking Middle East moves” pic.twitter.com/ejrwwonJtt
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 15, 2025
President Trump's recent series of audacious foreign policy moves have astounded even some of his harshest critics.
The big picture: Just in the Middle East and just in the past week, Trump has met with a leader the U.S. officially considers a terrorist, announced he'll lift all sanctions on Syria, and cut a truce with the Houthis plus a hostage deal with Hamas, both of which excluded Israel.
What they're saying: Biden administration veterans who spoke with Axios raised questions about Trump's motivations but grudgingly saluted his boldness.
"Gosh, I wish I could work for an administration that could move that quickly," one admitted.
"He does all this, and it's kind of silence, it's met with a shrug," says Ned Price, a former senior State Department official under President Biden. "He has the ability to do things politically that previous presidents did not, because he has complete unquestioned authority over the Republican caucus."
"It's hard not to be simultaneously terrified at the thought of the damage he can cause with such power, and awed by his willingness to brazenly shatter so many harmful taboos," says Rob Malley, who held senior posts in three Democratic administrations, including handling Iran talks under Presidents Obama and Biden.
[…]
Zoom in: On Syria, Trump's own State Department had espoused a policy similar to the Biden administration's before it — sanctions relief might be possible if militant-turned-statesman Ahmed al-Sharaa's government met a number of criteria, such as suppressing extremist groups.
[…]
"It's so clearly the right decision," said Ben Rhodes, a national security aide to President Obama, on the "Pod Save the World" podcast. "I don't know why Joe Biden didn't do this."
I don't like Trump's motivations for lots of things he does," Rhodes continued, "but one thing you will say is he's not tied to this constant fear of some bad faith right-wing attacks or stupid Blob-type, 'we don't do this, we must leverage the sanctions for blah blah blah.' No! Sometimes you just have to try something different."
Rep. @jahimes (D-CT): “I think the President has in this last week or so played the Middle East pretty darn well.” pic.twitter.com/b1jWx7HMrs
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 15, 2025
First of all, I never thought Ben Rhodes would say something remotely positive about Trump. Second, Ben, we know why Biden couldn’t do what Trump announced in Syria. It’s all over the news: he was mentally incapable of being president.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member