“I really commend President Trump and his administration,” Hillary Clinton, Trump’s 2016 general election rival, stated on Friday.
In the days since President Trump announced that he had successfully brokered a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the commander-in-chief has garnered praise from both his political allies and opponents alike.
One notable term of the ceasefire has brought peace and closure to families on both sides of the conflict, as hostages and prisoners have been released in a historic exchange. Only 20 Israeli hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023, remained living in Gaza after 738 days in captivity.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Trump’s advocacy for the hostages and the deal that ultimately secured their freedom.
“Today is a wonderful day. Finally, finally, finally, the last living hostages brutally held by Hamas are home, an immense and overwhelming sigh of relief,” Schumer stated. “I commend the enormous advocacy of the tireless hostage families, President Trump, his administration, and all who helped make this moment happen.”
In an equally unlikely source of applause, former Secretary of State and Trump’s 2016 general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, spoke out in favor of the peace deal and recognizing the president’s hand in it.
“I really commend President Trump and his administration, as well as Arab leaders in the region for making the commitment to the 20-point plan and seeing a path forward for what’s often called the day after,” Clinton told CBS on Friday.
The positive words are a major departure from a scathing op-ed Clinton penned for the New York Times, critiquing the Trump administration’s capability in handling foreign affairs. Clinton called the Trump approach “dumb power,” writing that, “Instead of a strong America using all our strengths to lead the world and confront our adversaries, Mr. Trump’s America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless.”
While the conflict in the Middle East has served as a prime opportunity to spotlight Trump’s diplomacy skills, the president has also earned support from allies in lower-profile regions. On Friday, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, aligned herself with the president and the United States as “principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.”
“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!” Corina Machado wrote, speaking of her Nobel Prize.
Though Trump’s 20-point plan to end the conflict in Gaza has met successful milestones this week, the stability of ongoing peace between Israel and Hamas remains visibly tenuous. Trump warned Hamas on Thursday that, if the terrorist organization does not cease killing people in Gaza and return bodies of deceased hostages, he would permit Israel to resume military action.
