Comedian Bill Maher lauded President Donald Trump for his unique style of Middle East diplomacy on his “Club Random” podcast Monday.
Trump achieved the first phase of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas in October, which included the release of all the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Maher credited Trump on the podcast for taking Israel’s side while also earning the admiration of Arab countries, who helped facilitate the deal.
“He didn’t play the silly game that the other presidents do, like, ‘Well, we have to be even-steven. Who knows who’s right, the people who treasure life or the people who treasure death?’ And he was like, ‘Where would you live? Ramallah or Tel Aviv? You’d live in Tel Aviv.’ A society that resembles yours and has shared values,” Maher said. “Not letting women be free to dress as they want and covering their faces and stuff — that’s not our values. Are you kidding?”
“So he said, ‘No, I’m with Israel. Let’s see how this works out. I’m with Western values. I think democracy is better than theocracy.’ … The Jews love him more than any president ever. And the Arabs do too. That’s quite a hat trick,” he added. “You got to give it up for that one. That’s quite a trick that the Saudi Arabia — they kind of relate on a ‘You like gold everything; I like gold everything.’ And also, the Trump doctrine is really, ‘We don’t judge you. You know what, you cut the head off a journalist? Yeah, I wouldn’t do it, but you know, I’m just not going to judge.’”
Maher also noted former President Joe Biden ended up changing his tune on Saudi Arabia. Biden had pledged to make Saudi Arabia “the pariah that they are” during a Democratic debate in 2019, but eventually met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2022 and even gave him a fist bump.
“You can’t ignore them. They’re the counterweight to Shiite Iran and they are the people who have the oil,” the comedian said. “So you can’t not deal.”
Trump said in his Oct. 8 Truth Social post announcing the Israel-Hamas deal that it was brokered with the assistance of Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey. The president subsequently spoke before the Israeli Knesset and traveled to Egypt, where he signed a peace accord with Arab leaders that ended Israel’s war with Hamas.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
