Here’s how Trump ignored reality to blow up Middle East peace deal

Donald Trump created a myth of being a successful dealmaker when he was billed as a co-author of the 1987 Tony Schwartz book, Trump: The Art of the Deal. That myth was shattered with his actions in the Middle East, according to the new book Trump’s Peace: The Abraham Accords and the Reshaping of the Middle East by Barak Ravid.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump vowed to cut “the mother of all deals” to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Trump said that at an early stage of his presidency, he realized that Netanyahu would be a bigger obstacle to peace than Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas," Ravid reported. "Abbas told Trump that he thought they could make a deal. Netanyahu urged Trump to wait."

Yet Trump still pushed for a deal.

"Nevertheless, like the two predecessors who worked on this issue with Netanyahu — Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — Trump reached the conclusion that Netanyahu never sincerely wanted to negotiate a two-state solution," Ravid reported.

READ: 'Get out!' Jared Kushner erupted at Israeli ambassador in White House meeting

Trump described how he reached the conclusion.“My whole life is deals. I'm like one big deal. That's all I do, so I understand it. And after meeting with Bibi for three minutes … I stopped Bibi in the middle of a sentence. I said, 'Bibi, you don't want to make a deal. Do you?' And he said, 'Well, uh, uh uh' — and the fact is, I don't think Bibi ever wanted to make a deal," Trump said.

However, Trump may have destroyed all hope for peace during the 2016 presidential campaign.

"Trump undermined his own efforts toward a peace deal in December 2017 when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and said the U.S. Embassy would move there," he explained. "Kushner's team worried that could be a bump on the road to any agreement with the Palestinians. It turned out to be far more serious, becoming the worst crisis between the U.S. and Palestinians in at least 15 years."

Trump cut off aid to the Palestinians, but had difficulty explaining why.

READ: Trump threatened Netanyahu with mean tweets: report

"Trump's decision was mainly political, to fulfill a campaign promise and prove to his evangelical base that he'd take steps no other president would," Ravid noted. "But in our interview, he struggled to explain why he continually took steps to benefit Netanyahu and harm Abbas, even though he'd initially found Abbas more cooperative. One explanation he offered was that he'd always been told the Israelis wanted peace, not the Palestinians."

Ravid additionally reported "Trump also conceded that cutting aid to the Palestinians had not been effective in bringing them back to the negotiating table. 'These are hardened people,' he said."

Read the full report.

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