Momentum slows as Trump turns his focus elsewhere in the Mideast
For all the positive changes made during the first administration and in the beginning of this second one, administration officials have seemingly abandoned the plan to rid Gaza of Hamas.
By: Joseph Puder
December 4, 2025
The triumph of Donald Trump in the 2024 elections, decisively defeating his Democratic opponent, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, brought relief to his supporters who hoped that America would return to its traditional role of protecting the Judeo-Christian values of the nation’s founding fathers. His overturning of the stifling political correctness and multiculturalism was a breath of fresh air, as was his unabashed American patriotism and readiness to defend America against its enemies.
Despite an unprecedented second-term win after a four-year hiatus (having happened only once prior with President Grover Cleveland) when he lost to former President Joe Biden, the ideas and actions that made him a champion, including destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities (with Israel’s help), have begun to fade.
Trump’s “half-baked” decision to only partially designate as a foreign terrorist organization the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, while leaving out the more dangerous Brotherhood-related elements in places like Ankara and Doha, coupled with the rising threat on the homeland from operatives in the United States, seems to serve the wishes of Egypt’s President Fattah el-Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan, and especially, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Conversely, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as terror groups. His statement was unequivocal: “The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world. The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation and harassment are unacceptable.”
Trump previously used the right words when he threatened Hamas, the genocidal terror group in Gaza, saying “all hell will break loose” if they didn’t return the kidnapped Israeli hostages. But he lacked the will to enforce those words. The BBC would go on to quote Trump on Oct. 15: “If Hamas failed to disarm within ‘a reasonable period of time,’ then ‘we will disarm them.’” But now, under the uncontested influence of some of the champions of the Muslim Brotherhood—Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani—Hamas terrorists will probably sit tight in Gaza, unlikely to disarm, while Israel’s hands remain tied by the “ceasefire.”
Trump fails to grasp that what was true for Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan during World War II is also true today. Hamas must be defeated, and Gaza must begin a process of reorientation, just as Germany went through denazification and Japan adopted democracy.
Without the drastic re-education of young Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, the demonic hate for Israel, Jews, America and the West, inculcated in them for decades by the media, mosques, Palestinian Arab society and its leaders, as well as U.N. agencies that were supposed to help them, the bloodshed will continue.
For all the positive changes made during the first administration and in the beginning of this current one, the momentum has slowed to a trickle, with administration officials seemingly abandoning the plan to rid Gaza of its bloodthirsty terrorists. Apparently, the pressure placed on Trump by his new Islamist friends seems to have affected his previously stated resolve. Trump recently gave a warm White House reception to former arch-jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa (Mohammad al-Jolani), now the transitional president of Syria, whose personal mentor is Erdoğan. Trump gave another warm White House reception to New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a fellow Islamist and antisemite.
To understand Trump’s new agenda, take note of his first international trip in May. He graced the following countries with his visit: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. His second term seems notable in that these visits are essentially transactional, seeking to bring foreign investments into America. According to Trump, his deals with the Arab Gulf states should yield investments amounting to $2 trillion. At what cost to the United States?
These enormous sums promised by the Saudis and Qataris have a price. Aside from a U.S. protection agreement with Saudi Arabia and the impending sale of the advanced F-35 fighter jets to Riyadh, there is a promise to help the Saudis with nuclear cooperation. Qatar already has a protection deal with Washington, including the largest U.S. military base in the Mideast, as well as the seat of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). The country has contracted to purchase more than 200 airline jets, most likely the largest airline deal America has ever made.
Trump has also lifted the sanctions imposed on al-Sharaa.
Significantly, Trump’s overseas visit excluded Israel. The president, it seems, succumbed to the wishes of the Qatari emir, and, to add insult to injury, forced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apologize to the Qataris (hosts of the Hamas leadership) for an Israeli strike on terrorists residing there.
Money is important, but it’s not everything. The New York City mayoral vote saw the election spin on affordability. If we keep propping up the value of trillions, then we run the risk of losing a generation that will continue to turn away from the values that made this country great.