Obama Skirts Mentioning Trump While Praising Gaza Peace Agreement

Barack Obama refused to name Donald Trump in an astonishing snub to the president as he celebrated the Gaza peace deal. The Democratic ex-president posted a statement on social media, saying he was ‘relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight.’

But he could not bring himself to name his nemesis Trump, who defied all odds in securing a peace agreement on Wednesday to end the bloody two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas. ‘I’ll finish it for you. “Thank you, Donald Trump,”‘ the president’s son, Don Jr. wrote, mocking Obama’s statement.

Trump had earlier attacked his predecessor in the Oval Office for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for ‘doing nothing’ when asked if he now expected to receive the award. ‘I’ve stopped eight wars, so that’s never happened before — but they’ll have to do what they do. Whatever they do is fine. I know this: I didn’t do it for [the Nobel Peace Prize], I did it because I saved a lot of lives,’ Trump said.

Obama received the prestigious award in 2009, eight months into his first term in a decision that shocked the world. Even the liberal New York Times said it was ‘very premature’ and argued the Nobel ‘should have a higher bar.’ The award will be announced at 5am (EST) in Oslo, Norway. Trump is not expected to win, with prediction market Kalshi pricing in just a 5 percent chance.

But while Obama snubbed Trump, other liberals heaped praise on the president’s peace deal. ‘I think this is a moment for optimism and to celebrate the possibility that 20 families may well soon welcome home living hostages,’ Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a close ally and former congressional staffer of former President Joe Biden, said Tuesday. Hillary Clinton ‘s 2016 running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said he is ‘very pleased’ with the Republican’s Israel/Hamas deal. ‘I applaud President Trump and the team and all for getting to this step. The release of the hostages [is] such good news, and obviously, we have to see how it progresses.’

The second most powerful Democratic Senator Durbin of Illinois, also expressed his excitement over the deal, even if he didn’t mention the president by name. ‘I’m very heartened by it. I hope it ends the conflict in Gaza as quickly as possible,’ he said. Maverick Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., the most ardent supporter of Israel of all Senate Democrats, even said he would nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize should the president continue to end conflicts abroad. ‘I think the whole point of having a Nobel Peace Prize is for ending wars and promoting peace,’ Fetterman told Fox News. ‘And if he brings the Ukrainian war to its end, I will be the Democrat leading the committee for his Nobel Prize..for ending both of these terrible wars.’

Trump announced Wednesday evening that Israel and Hamas both had signed off on the ‘first phase’ of his proposed peace deal – a substantial step in ending the war in Gaza. On Thursday, the president declared the deal was ‘all finalized and done.’ He also announced he would travel to Israel next week to welcome home the living hostages currently held by Hamas. There are believed to be around 20 surviving hostages. They are expected to be released to Israeli officials on Monday or Tuesday.

Hamas plans to release all 20 living hostages this weekend in exchange for roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza, people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. Israel’s security cabinet plans to vote soon on the proposed deal. Goldman, who served as the counsel during Democrats’ first attempt to impeach Trump during his first term, said on CNN Wednesday night that he was ‘ecstatic’ about the peace deal.

When pressed on why ex-President Joe Biden couldn’t get the deal done, he blamed Arab nations for not applying pressure on Hamas’ leadership. ‘The biggest problem that President Biden had was there was no pressure from Qatar, from Turkey, from Egypt. They were actually facilitating in many ways what was going on.’ Goldman also acknowledged that Trump changed the dynamic between the nations, something Biden was unable to do while in office.

After the announcement, Hamas thanked Trump, as well as mediators in Qatar, Egypt and Turkey for the peace deal, which they say provides ‘the withdrawal of the occupation, allows the entry of aid and implements a prisoner exchange.’ When asked about whether he supports a two-state solution on Thursday, the president deferred to local leaders. ‘I don’t have a view,’ Trump told reporters. ‘I’m going to go with what they agree to.’