Transcript:
FOX: Let’s bring in the chief editor for the Middle East Forum, Jim Hanson. Jim, good morning to you.
So the president landed in Saudi Arabia a little over an hour ago, was greeted by the crown prince at the tarmac. And as Kevin was just talking about, business and deal making is going to be a major focus of this trip. But there’s also the pressing news of the day, which is Iran in the Israel-Hamas war, which I’m sure will be greatly discussed behind the scenes as well.
Hanson: Oh, absolutely. President Trump was signaling he has bold plans in the Middle East by going to these three countries first, the power trio of Gulf Arab states. And I think he wants to go ahead and put some sort of end to the fighting in Gaza, and he needs their help for that. They would most likely be providing some sort of security forces and money for rebuilding.
Now, that’s not overly palatable to Israel, but it could also lead to talks later of revitalization of the Abraham Accords and discussion potentially of the Holy Grail, Saudi Arabia recognizing Israel as a state.
FOX: What are the implications for this trip on China’s efforts to become the world dominant power? Will Middle East investment in the U.S. serve as a counterweight to what China is trying to do in Africa, in the Middle East and elsewhere throughout the world?
Hanson: Without a doubt. I mean, President Trump is not going to play second fiddle to China. You know, there was a point in time where the Biden administration and others were willing to let that happen. He absolutely is not.
We are the global superpower, the only one. So he wants to make sure that as things, you know, in the Middle East play out, that the United States is who everyone is aligned with. And he also wants those same countries aligned with him against Iran so that he’s got both an economic and a diplomatic ability to put pressure on that country and try to take out the big problem that destabilizes the whole region.
FOX: Well, you can never turn your TV off for too long, Jim, because the president is always making news. And yesterday he did when he said that he could potentially divert to Turkey to help with the Russia-Ukraine peace talks that could happen on Thursday there. Listen to him here talking about that.
Watch.
Trump: Thursday’s meeting with Russia and Ukraine is very important. I was I was very insistent that that meeting take place. I think good things can come out of that meeting. I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen, but we got to get it done.
FOX: And yesterday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky says that he does want President Trump to attend. So talk to us about the significance of this meeting that could take place on Thursday. Could this be the beginning of the end of this war?
Hanson: I think it’s a possibility. The thing he doesn’t want to happen is to have Putin decide to play one-upsmanship with Zelensky. If he’s finally got Zelensky on board, and that took some work, He wants to make sure that Vladimir Putin shows up and that actual deep negotiations go on rather than this. Oh, maybe we’ll have a ceasefire here. Maybe we’ll do this.
No, it’s time to finish this. The end game is known. Russia keeps Donbass in Crimea and, you know, Zelensky gets some sort of mineral deal plus some security guarantees from the Europeans.
That’s the way it’s gonna end up. President Trump’s ready to make that reality and get it on paper.
FOX: And, Jim, an overarching theme of this entire week is meeting in person with people, just from a foreign policy, a diplomatic, just a negotiating perspective.
What insight can you give on how much more effective being there in the flesh, looking at somebody leader to leader, eye to eye, has on getting things, to Carly’s point, across the finish line, whether it’s economic, whether it’s geopolitical?
Hanson: Yeah, it is something that President Trump prides himself on, and I think he should. He is a big man in the global marketplace of ideas and power. And when he’s in the room and the United States is in the room, It’s it’s a different situation than other people saying, oh, we’ll do shuttle diplomacy. We’ll talk about this.
No, you’re dealing with the most powerful man on the planet and he likes to go ahead and use that to generate personal connections with these people, sometimes good, sometimes bad. As Zelensky saw that one time in the Oval Office, but it allows him to put his thumb on the scale when he thinks he needs to and to to use his. pretty large amount of charm to go ahead and bring some of these people together. I think it’s great for him.
FOX: Jim, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you.
Hanson: Good to be with you.
