Can President Trump broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians? That’s the “ultimate deal” that will be on the president’s mind as he travels Monday to Israel. Here’s more from the New York Times:
Leading this effort is Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Trump and a senior adviser at the White House. A private aide who shuns the spotlight, Kushner offered an on-the-record statement Sunday to acknowledge “great progress” during Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia this weekend to kick off his first foreign trip as president.
“The President asked us to plan a trip that would help unite the world against intolerance and terrorism and we have made great progress toward that goal in Saudi Arabia,” Kushner said.
Kushner and his close associate, speechwriter and policy aide Stephen Miller, were among those who influenced Trump’s Sunday speech in Saudi Arabia, which consisted of calls for Muslim nations in the Middle East to “drive out” extremism in their home countries. The tone of the speech was much more measured than Trump’s campaign rhetoric blasting “radical Islamic terrorism.”
“It’s a choice between two futures, and it is a choice America cannot make for you. A better future is only possible if your nations drive out the terrorists and drive out the extremists. Drive them out. Drive them out of your places of worship. Drive them out of your communities. Drive them out of your holy land. And drive them out of this Earth,” Trump told attendees at the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh.
While the speech was praised in American media for the contrast with his usual rhetoric, the content was not a particularly radical departure from past presidents’ encouragement of Muslim nations and leaders to root out extremism. This, despite promises from administration officials that the speech would be an “historic” moment for Trump to articulate a new vision for the region.
One notable break from President Obama, however, was Trump’s willingness to castigate the regime in Iran in stark terms. Here’s an excerpt from his speech:
Trump’s critical words for Iran’s Shi’ite regime were delivered to a receptive audience in Sunni Saudi Arabia, but the contrast with the Obama administration’s conciliatory rhetoric toward Tehran nonetheless sent a message to others in the region. But will the president also bring that sort of tough-but-necessary rhetoric to the negotiations with the Palestinians, whose leadership sponsors terrorism against the Israelis and continue to reject deals with Israel? And do Trump, Kushner, and company have a plan for resolving this protracted conflict beyond speeches and rhetoric?
