In a speech in Abu Dhabi this week, President Donald Trump praised the Middle East’s transformation as an achievement of its own people, not the result of foreign intervention. He celebrated a new generation of regional leaders who are moving beyond old conflicts and choosing prosperity over chaos.
Trump emphasized that the progress in places like Riyadh and Abu Dhabi wasn’t built by Western elites, neocons, or left-wing nonprofits, but by locals charting their own path. He condemned past U.S. efforts at nation-building, arguing that they often caused more harm than good by meddling in cultures they didn’t understand.
.@POTUS: The gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called nation-builders... who spent trillions of dollars failing to develop Kabul and Baghdad... the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought about by the people of the region themselves. pic.twitter.com/SluRou2mv6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 13, 2025
In a wide-ranging conversation on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” CNN’s Scott Jennings praised Donald Trump’s foreign policy approach — especially his bold rejection of the failed interventionist dogma that defined previous administrations. The discussion zeroed in on Trump’s latest speech in Riyadh, where he laid out what’s quickly becoming known as the “Trump Doctrine,” which is reshaping the GOP and America’s place in the world.
“Now we have the Trump doctrine,” Maher began, “which is, I think, as much of a departure as any doctrine a president has ever promulgated. Because what he is saying is, and I’ll give you some of the quotes, is, ‘In the end, the so-called nation builders wrecked far more nations than they built.’”
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Maher, who doesn't exactly side with Trump, noted that these critiques echo old anti-war positions from the left. “‘Interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand. Now, I gotta say, this is something people on the left said about Vietnam… We said it about Iraq — what are we doing here?”
Jennings, a longtime GOP strategist, acknowledged that Trump’s vision is a shift from the old guard. “Something about the Republican doctrine that is fascinating to me,” he said. “I’ve been in the party for 25 years, working in it. We’ve always been war and peace. I think Trump has changed it to peace and war.”
Jennings emphasized that Trump isn’t weak. “He’s still hawkish enough to bomb people that need to be bombed, like the Houthi rebels,” he said. But the key shift, Jennings argued, is that Trump is speaking to a broader coalition. “I get the feeling he’s responding to all these new inflows of constituents to the Republican Party. Maybe they were Democrats before; maybe they weren’t even political before.”
That growing base, Jennings added, “would much rather hear an American president talk about peace.”
Maher pointed out that banners at Trump’s rally in the Middle East this week read, “Peace through strength,” a throwback to Reagan, and one Trump is making relevant again.
Jennings agreed: “He doesn’t agree with him on everything, but on that, I think he’s right. Putting peace ahead of war — pretty popular with the American people right now.”
President Trump has flipped "war and peace" to "peace and war" — and even people on the left are getting on board.
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) May 17, 2025
When even @billmaher's @RealTimers audience is applauding the new Trump doctrine, it's clear a seismic shift is underway. pic.twitter.com/PrjMn8CRCn
And that may be Trump’s most transformative legacy of all.
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