Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff in the Obama administration and a former Chicago mayor, credited President Donald Trump on Friday for helping to broker a peace deal between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas terrorists.
“I have no problem saying it. President Trump deserves credit here,” Emanuel said while appearing on C-SPAN’s “Ceasefire” with former Vice President Mike Pence. The show, hosted by Politico’s Dasha Burns, premiered Friday night.
“Some in my party won’t say that,” Emanuel added. “I also think it accrues to America’s benefit. And that is the United States is the essential power around the world.
“We shouldn’t back off from that responsibility. And we just proved this in spades. Something that neither Russia, China nor any other country could have done what we just did. And that’s good for the United States.”
Emanuel said he would like to see Trump wield the same pressure he used against Israel and Hamas against Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
“This is the first chapter of what comes next, not the last chapter of what just closed,” Emanuel said. “Where this goes — will the president’s administration stay not only engaged, but shape this to something better?
“And the second thing is … Ukraine. Will the president take the lessons of how he applied pressure on Bibi Netanyahu to apply pressure on Putin, who is in a very vulnerable, weak position across the globe and in this war, which is a huge mistake, and he knows it.
“Will he take this lesson and do what he has never done in his career — apply pressure to Putin?” Emanuel said.
Since returning to office, Trump has publicly urged Putin to negotiate peace, set informal deadlines for a ceasefire, and directed U.S. and allied officials to pursue talks aimed at halting the conflict.
He has also warned that Russia faces further isolation if it continues the war — a stance reinforced by calls for Europe to cut Russian oil purchases and by discussions at his August summit with Putin in Alaska.
Pence, whose relationship with his former boss has soured since the events of Jan. 6, 2021, welcomed Emanuel’s acknowledgment of Trump’s diplomacy.
“I’m grateful for Rahm speaking plainly about giving President Trump credit here,” Pence said.
“Look, I think the president’s consistent support for Israel doing what it had to do after the horrors of Oct. 7 two years ago … and the ability to stay with Israel as they did what needed to be done, and the president’s relentless pursuit for peace here and that of his team, I think, is to be commended.”
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