Oh, the horror—a U.S. president who didn’t ask permission from Brussels or the U.N. before making a move. Imagine that. And yet, for all the howling and hand-wringing, Donald Trump, through a mix of unapologetic power plays, realpolitik, and good old-fashioned deal-making, accomplished something that had eluded polished diplomats and global “experts” for decades: a relative calm in the Middle East.
Let’s be honest here—Trump wasn’t playing by the polite international rulebook. He didn’t wine and dine Tehran while whispering sweet nothings about “restraint” and “dialogue.” Instead, he cut off Iran’s cash flow like a plumber fixing a broken faucet. No more billions flowing from Obama-era deals that only funded terror proxies across the region. And when Israel needed to flex its military muscle, Trump gave them the green light. Iran’s “ring of fire”? More like a ring of ashes. And lo and behold—less cash for Iran, fewer bombs going off in Israeli cities. Shocking, right?
Meanwhile, Netanyahu wasn’t handcuffed by the usual D.C. diplomacy crowd. Trump let Israel strike back. Hard. Hamas took a beating. Hezbollah got put in check. The Houthis found out that lobbing rockets comes with a price tag. And without the Biden-style “strategic patience” or Obama’s Nobel Prize optimism, the terrorist networks realized there was a new sheriff in town—one who didn’t blink.
What Trump understood—and the elite crowd always seems to miss—is that power isn’t a bad word in the Middle East. It’s currency. It’s credibility. And when you stand with your allies instead of second-guessing them, like the Biden White House did when it signaled weakness before October 7, your enemies pay attention. Trump made it clear there was no daylight between the U.S. and Israel, and that clarity terrified the region’s bad actors.
Oh, and those infamous Abraham Accords? You remember—the ones the media downplayed because they weren’t negotiated by John Kerry in a Parisian cafe? Those changed the game. Trump got Arab nations to talk peace, normalize ties, and—brace yourself—work with Israel. And the leverage? Tariffs, trade access, military pacts. Not kumbaya sessions or strongly worded U.N. letters. Actual incentives and consequences.
Let’s not forget the Qatar play. Trump didn’t just promise to protect them—he made clear that protection came with a leash. If Qatar didn’t rein in Hamas and stop funding double-dealing mischief, the U.S. could just as easily walk away—or worse. And after Hamas leadership got a surprise visit from Israeli missiles, Qatar got the memo loud and clear.
Unlike Biden, who seems to think making deals involves apologizing for American strength, Trump leaned into it. He eliminated Soleimani, took out Baghdadi, and reminded everyone that red lines under his watch actually meant something. Even Europe eventually stopped rolling its eyes and started looking to Trump to save them from Putin. Funny how fear of real leadership sharpens the mind.
Trump also didn’t waste time with delusional U.N. resolutions or romanticized visions of a two-state solution drawn on napkins. He brought in Arab money, Arab influence, and made Arab nations own the peace process. The result? No Arafat-like figure calling the shots with a pistol on his hip. Just practical conversations about reconstruction and regional stability.
And for all the talk about Trump’s chaos, there was a method to the madness. Everything was transactional. You want U.S. protection? Here are the terms. You want aid? Show results. He didn’t demonize the Saudis or undermine Netanyahu just to score points with progressive Twitter. He dealt in outcomes—not virtue signals.
In the end, the biggest irony might be this: Trump, supposedly the most unpredictable figure in modern politics, created a form of predictability in the most unstable region on Earth. Peace through strength? Sounds cliché until it works.
Meanwhile, under Biden, we’ve seen October 7, growing chaos in Gaza, a resurgence of Iranian-backed terror, and a White House trying to look tough while walking back everything that actually kept the region in check. But sure, let’s pretend the “experts” have it all under control again.
Trump may have ruffled feathers, broken norms, and terrified bureaucrats—but in the Middle East, results matter. And for a brief, rare moment, the region saw a peace broker who wasn’t afraid to throw elbows, call bluffs, and back up his words with force. Turns out, that’s exactly what was needed.
