Power, narcissism, and money won’t lead to peace
President Trump makes no secret of what drives him: power, narcissism, and money. He is obsessed with the Nobel Peace Prize. However, there is one fundamental obstacle in his way: the president’s own depraved character.
His peace initiatives, in Europe and here in the Middle East, repeatedly stall because of his narcissism and the admiration for power that guides him, a combination that makes him an impotent mediator.
He is drawn to violent leaders, dictators, and those who aspire to be them – Putin, Netanyahu, Orbán, Bolsonaro, and other dubious friends.
But in his pursuit of power and money – and in the hollow “honor” he finds in flattering Netanyahu – Trump pushes himself further from his supposed goals. Won over by shallow short-term political winds, he gives cover to warmongers, blocks diplomatic solutions, and undermines his own longer-term goals.
His incoherent approach has led to endless zigzags on his Ukraine policy and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The same is true with regard to the Palestinians, who are time and again cast aside despite pledges to end the war and apparent concern for starving children.
The latest example came with Secretary of State Rubio’s announcement that senior Palestinian leaders would be denied US visas ahead of the UN General Assembly, alongside new restrictions on Palestinian passport holders. Once again, this administration appears to be punishing Palestinians simply for existing.
The “Deal of the Century,” which has ignored the Palestinians, along with the closure of the American consulate in Jerusalem and the Abraham Accords, demonstrated a disregard for the Palestinian issue. This has only made the conflict worse, not better.
Trump, who considers himself a “deal maker,” has difficulty internalizing that not all agreements are like the Abraham Accords – glorified business deals between states without war, blood, or trauma, where economic interest is the main driver. In agreements between real adversaries, recognition of the dignity and interests of the other side, even if it is the weaker side, is a basic condition for progress. Utilizing forcefulness as a negotiation tactic is likely to result in an impasse. Trump’s approach is a recipe not for resolution but for escalation and impasse.
Surrounded by yes-men, Trump has no one to tell him a simple truth: by beating the weak, you do not achieve agreement, only more rounds of violence.
More rounds of violence are in Netanyahu’s interest; it is almost certainly also in Putin’s interest. But this is not in the US’s interest and won’t win a Nobel Prize.
Trump recently announced that he wants to change the name of the Defense Department to War Department. If wars are truly Trump’s ambition, then he is on the right track.
But if the Norwegian members of the Nobel Prize Committee, who previously awarded the prize to his rival President Obama, are his target audience, Trump should listen less to Netanyahu, Putin, and the host of warmongers, and more to those who are trying to show him that diplomacy does not subdue an opponent but talks with him. Stop worshiping brute power, and open a channel for serious political dialogue with the Palestinian leadership. Abolish harmful punitive measures, like visa denials, and act as a fair mediator between the parties rather than fulfilling the fantasies of the Israeli extreme right.
Those who save Zelensky from being completely ignored by Trump are the leaders of NATO and the European Union, some of whom even came to Washington with him.
The same thing must happen here. European and Arab partners should send a clear message: Ignoring the Palestinians and carrying out the wishes of far-right Israelis will only undermine US interests, isolate Trump, and entrench the conflict.
They should consider bold steps – such as moving the UN General Assembly out of the United States and strengthening the Palestinian Authority by granting full recognition of a Palestinian state. The latest announcement by Ambassador Nuseibeh that annexation will harm the Abraham Accords is a good example.
Only then might Trump realize that instead of isolating the Palestinians, he is isolating himself and Netanyahu.