LOS ANGELES (OC).–Giving advance notice to officials in Doha, Qatar, 79-year-old President Donald Trump warned them about an impending Israeli strike on Hamas officials meeting to resolve the Israeli-Gaza War. Israel launched its war in Gaza after the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar planned and orchestrated the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis, taking 251 hostages, with some 40 hostages still in captivity, at least 20 believed dead. Trump warned Hamas, as he has in the past, to release the hostages or face an all out battle in Gaza City aimed at eliminating the terror group, formed in 1987 by blind Sheikh Ahmed Yassin with only one aim, to destroy Israel. Israel’s strike prompted condemnations from the European Union, with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemning the strike in Doha and unnecessary escalation.
Trump has been dealing with the fallout from an ICE raid on a Hyundai plant in Georgia where over 300 workers were arrested in yet another superfluous raid on suspected illegal immigrants. U.S. immigration officials know that foreign auto plants typically employ foreigners to maintain quality control and standards expected of auto manufacturing. ICE raids at the Hyundai plant in Georgia shows the extremes to which ICE will go, applying no common sense whatsoever. Continued raids in Latino communities in the West and Southwest have pushed communities to the breaking point. Trump shows no signs of letting up on his immigration enforcement regardless if there’s no criminal activity involved. Trump must pivot away from his current policy or push the country to vote Democrat in the 2026 Midterm Elections that will loom over politics for the next year.
By far the biggest issue looming over the White House is the lack of progress on any resolution to the Ukraine War. Trump has grown frustrated with Putin because he’s shown no let up in his aerial bombardment of Ukraine. Trump hoped after this Aug. 15 summit in Anchorage, Alaska that he would get some agreement to pause the air war so peace talks could begin. But its become more obvious that the EU plays a bigger role in deciding how a peace unfolds in Ukraine than Trump imagined. Zelensky has stubbornly resisted the idea of trading land-for-peace, the only path to end the war. Trump has told Zelensky he needs to cut his losses, end the war and start rebuilding Ukraine. EU officials like French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz agree with Zelensky that surrendering land to Putin would invites more land-grabs in the future.
Trump wants to end the war but has hit roadblocks with Zelensky and the EU refusing to engage in a negotiation process. Trump gets frustrated with Putin but knows he has no peace partner with Zelensky and the EU. Trump wants to discuss with Putin his aerial bombardment that seems to have gotten worse over the last few months. Zelensky and the EU have precluded the major premise of any peace talks with Russia involving trading land-and-for-peace. Finish Prime Minister Elina Valtonen said today that EU cannot allow Zelensky to surrender land to Putin because his goal is to subjugate other EU territories in the future. Zelensky has been warning that EU that if Trump wins in Ukraine, he’ll continue to seize land in Europe. Putin has denied that he wants to pick a fight with NATO or has any interest in seizing land in the EU. Yet that’s Zelensky’s message.
Trump found out that he can’t prevail in getting a peace deal because Zelensky and the EU oppose any negotiation that involves trading land-for-peace. When Macron hosted Zelensky and other EU leaders in Paris last week, they discussed a post-war security arrangements without having an plan for ending the war. If you listen to Zelensky, he’s happy talking about post-war security arrangements as long as he gets a quasi-NATO Article 5 protection from the EU. But it’s clear the EU and Zelensky have no plan for ending the war, leaving Trump out of the loop. “I’m not happy about the whole war,” Trump said. “No one has been tougher on President Putin. I am not thrilled with Putin,” knowing that the main obstacle to peace is Zelensky and the EU. EU officials now consider a post-war security arrangement because they actually fear Putin taking over more EU countries.
Hitting one roadblock after another, Ukraine and Gaza have both eluded Trump, because there’s no consensus on how to proceed. When it said he’s given his last warning to Hamas, he’s really saying that he’s giving the green like to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to finish the job, no matter how blood or dangerous to Israeli Defense Forces. Has still controls most of the elaborate underground military tunnels in Gaza, built over the years for one day invading Israel to destroy the Jewish State. Hamas found out what happens when you massacre Israeli citizens, starting a war in Gaza they can’t stop. Trump has given Hamas all the time they need to return the remaining Israeli hostages and get out of Gaza. Most Arab states have told Hamas to take an exile deal and to leave Gaza. Everyone knows they cannot continue to rule the Gaza Strip.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
