NEWT GINGRICH: The President Of Peace

There is no precedent for the outpouring of support for President Donald J. Trump and his effort to bring peace to the Middle East.

The two events (in one day) at Jerusalem and Sharm El-Sheikh were unimaginable until they happened.

It was clear President Trump has built personal relationships with the more than two dozen national leaders who joined him for photos. He has developed a working knowledge of the world that is astonishing.

The consistent references to peace in both Israel and Gaza represented a dramatic break with the 77-year struggle to survive that has characterized modern Israeli history.

Since it was re-established as a nation in May 1948, Israel was under siege. All its neighbors assaulted it in a coordinated effort to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth. It fought a series of wars to survive. Israel faced continuous terrorist efforts to destroy the country and drive its people out of the region. Hamas’s founding pledge was that “not a single Jew will remain.”

Now, in a strategic campaign that was first articulated in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on March 16, 2016, President Trump’s steady, persistent effort has begun to pay off in ways that makes him historically unique among American presidents.

The Knesset handed out red hats which read “Trump the Peace President.” They were modeled after the now iconic MAGA hats. Knesset members then gave President Trump a long standing ovation before he began speaking. The Trump-led peace effort resulted in crowds in Jerusalem and Gaza chanting his name. This was unthinkable until it happened.

When the President finished in Israel and flew to Sharm El-Sheikh, his limousine drove down a road filled with signs depicting him and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The signs were captioned “Welcome to the Land of Peace.” It was a long way from past wars.

Callista and I spent a good part of Monday watching this amazing moment in history. The extraordinarily positive and optimistic speeches made it clear we were seeing something that had never happened on this scale before.