Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., offered rare praise for President Donald Trump Thursday, arguing he “played the Middle East pretty darn well.”
Trump has received acclaim from some unusual constituencies for his efforts to strengthen strategic partnerships in the Middle East for stability and economic prosperity. Trump, speaking in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday said he thinks the U.S. and Iran “are getting close” to a nuclear deal without any violence.
Earlier this week, the president announced he would be lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria, before meeting the country’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, becoming the first U.S. president to meet with a Syrian president in 25 years.
Himes, ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, spoke at Politico’s Security Summit on Thursday where the Democrat gave rare credit to the Republican president.
FORMER BIDEN OFFICIALS OFFER RARE PRAISE FOR TRUMP’S BOLD MIDDLE EAST MOVES
“I’m not in the habit of praising Donald Trump,” he began, before describing how Trump exceeded his expectations in the Middle East the past week.
“I go into the week fearing that the prime minister of Israel is hell-bent on going to war with Iran. I go into the week worried that we’re going to miss the thread of an opportunity in Syria for the new leadership there. And I got to tell you, I think the president has, in this last week or so, played the Middle East pretty darn well,” Himes said.
“My guess is that the prime minister of Israel is cooling his heels a little bit on planning for Iran. My guess is that he’s probably thinking through a better situation than he otherwise might want for Gaza,” he added. “And look, it appears we’re going to give al-Sharaa a chance in Syria. That’s pretty good stuff. Again, not in the habit of praising this president, but I got to give him some kudos there.”
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Politico senior political columnist Jonathan Martin noted he would not hear any of those things from Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who is regarded as a hawk on foreign policy.
“The very reason that you’re praising Donald Trump is because he is taking a much more dovish approach to the Middle East than the hawks in his party, which does reflect that oftentimes Trump’s impulses are really, really less hawkish than the folks in his party would prefer, right?” Martin said.
Himes argued that the very reason he is in office is because of the backlash to the Iraq War.
“I’m cautious about broad statements — but the mistakes of foreign policy in my lifetime have been mistakes of being naive about military engagement or about, you know, covert stuff,” he said.
“Remaking the region,” Martin suggested, appearing to refer to ambitions of regime change and nation building in the Middle East.
“Vietnam. Remaking the region. Changing the world at the point of a spear,” Himes said. “And so, you know, look, we’ll see. We’ll see.”
Himes is one of many unexpected sources who have praised Trump for his bold moves in the Middle East, as numerous ex-Biden officials have expressed admiration as well.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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