What the Gaza ceasefire deal means for Trump's presidency

patch the deal to halt the war in Gaza matters most for its potential to save the lives of Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians, it could also become a personal political triumph for U.S. President Donald Trump.

By brokering the agreement, Trump has achieved what is arguably the biggest diplomatic win during his time in the White House.

He accomplished something that eluded his predecessor Joe Biden: a deal to bring home all the remaining hostages kidnapped by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, and get Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza.

Yes the deal must still be implemented, and what Israel and Hamas have agreed to is far from the “eternal peace” that Trump has claimed it to be. Still, some of his fiercest critics are giving him grudging praise.

John Bolton — who Trump dumped as national security adviser in 2019 and who in turn blasted the president as unfit for office in his 2020 memoir — says the White House team “certainly deserve credit” for their role in the deal. 

Gaza ceasefire now in effect, Israel military says

Bolton noted that it wouldn't happen this year "for a lot of reasons." On Friday, it was announced that the prize had been awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

"If this process continues, he may have a better argument next year,” Bolton said.

The agreement is redemption for Trump, who had long courted derision for repeatedly insisting that he could easily end the conflict in Gaza. 

Despite Trump's close alliance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a ceasefire announced by Biden that was in place when Trump took office in January collapsed just two months later. The relentless military assault on Gaza continued and Hamas kept holding its hostages.

For months, nothing Israel did in Gaza prompted Trump to draw a line. 

Trump wins praise, even from critics, for Israel-Hamas peace deal

That changed in early September when Israel launched an airstrike on Doha, the capital of Qatar, a key diplomatic conduit to Hamas and a longtime U.S. Ally that also happened to be giving Trump a $400-million jet to serve as a new Air Force One. 

Israel’s strike failed in its objective of taking out Hamas leadership and instead infuriated the Qataris and reportedly the White House, too, with Trump publicly saying he was “very unhappy.”

Trump soon forced Netanyahu to apologize to Qatar’s emir by phone, published photos of the call, and got the Israeli prime minister to endorse his 20-point peace plan.

The airstrike on Qatar is what “flipped the switch” for Trump, prompting him to pressure Netanyahu to accept the deal, says Dave Harden, managing director of Georgetown Strategy Group.

“The key difference here is he was really able to lean into Netanyahu in a way that was different from past presidents,” said Harden, who served as a senior adviser on Middle East peace in the Obama administration. 

Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli negotiator in the back-channel talks with Hamas that brought about the first major release of hostages, believes Trump’s leverage with Netanyahu was crucial. 

“What is important is that this agreement is a declaration of the end of the war — not a temporary ceasefire,” Baskin wrote on X. 

“For over a year, I believed that if President Trump decides that the war has to end, Trump will force Netanyahu into the agreement. That is exactly what happened,” Baskin said. 

Michael Desch, a professor of international affairs at the University of Notre Dame, says Trump has the political space domestically to follow through on his entire 20-point peace plan — including its promise of "a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood."

"Most important diplomatic achievements take sustained commitment," said Desch. "The question is, will he have the focus that will be necessary to really turn this into something lasting?"

While the effusive praise Trump received from his cabinet yesterday is to be expected, the accolades are also coming from some unlikely sources. 

“We are on the precipice of a monumental and historic achievement, and President Trump deserves a measure of credit for it,” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal told CNN. 

Even The Daily Show gave a positive nod to the peace deal.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this: I gotta give Donald Trump some props,” said Josh Johnson, while hosting Thursday’s episode of the late-night show.

“This is astonishing, because if this peace holds, it means the guy who couldn’t stop a fight between Gary Busey and Meat Loaf brokered peace in the Middle East,” said Johnson, referring to a 2011 episode of Trump's reality show Celebrity Apprentice.

It's hardly the Nobel Peace Prize, but when a late-night show gives Trump a thumbs up instead of roasting him, it’s a sign of a remarkable accomplishment. 

Correspondent

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