Thursday Essay: From Anathema to Applause — What Changed for Trump?

“Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” —Ronald Reagan

If it seems like I've written so much — too much? — about the Middle East this last week, bear with me as we go once more unto the breach. But don't worry, this week's essay is only tangentially about Israel, Gaza, and President Donald Trump's historic peace deal.

This is about the man who waged peace during his first term, and "never got no respect," to crib a line from Rodney Dangerfield, and the man who waged peace in 2025 to thunderous applause from around the world.

Trump hasn't changed, but something surely has.

"What, exactly?" is the question I've grappled with over the last few days.

At least part of the answer probably lies on the ceasefire's size, complexity, and importance. Officially called “The Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity,” the Gaza ceasefire involves 20 points implemented in three phases, and involves the U.S., Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt, along with Israel and Hamas.

That's kind of like putting on a production of Puccini's La Bohème starring the Marx Bros., William Shatner, and Fran Drescher — and making it work. 

But very briefly put, the ceasefire is so much more than just a cessation of hostilities and the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Hamas prisoners. By shutting out Hamas on the international stage following Monday's implementation of Phase One, Trump's artful deal reshapes the Middle East's political terrain.

This is exactly what Charles Lipson meant in Thursday's Telegraph when he described the deal as a "tectonic shift." Trump's "achievement of a regional deal that includes both Israel and the Muslim states is unprecedented," Lipson wrote, solidifying America and Israel's "positions as the key powers in the Middle East, militarily and economically. That’s true, even if Phase Two in Gaza goes poorly."

Lipson concluded that the agreement makes Trump "the most consequential U.S. leader since Ronald Reagan," and there's really little sense arguing against that. The country that couldn't even properly set up a supply pier to Gaza last year reemerged under Trump as the region's preeminent peace-broker. 

And Another Thing: A few commenters this week pointed out that Hamas is back in business in Gaza, terrorizing the locals, snuffing out rivals, potential rivals, or anybody that looks like they might someday become a potential rival. Well, so what? If Hamas refuses to disarm (duh!), then Israel has every right under Trump's peace plan to go back in and do the job themselves. But either way — and this is the key point — Trump's plan neutralized and isolated Hamas diplomatically. Even the Qataris are done with them, partly clearing the trail to a broader, regional peace.

Not everyone applauded. 

While losers and obstructionists like UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron — who both could have thwarted the peace with their official recognition of "Palestine" — did their best to shine in Trump's reflected glory, two other world leaders were conspicuous by their absence.

"I'm looking at you, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping," I wrote on Wednesday. "Or I would be, if anybody knew where the hell you were." Putin hasn't had anything publicly to say about Gaza for a week now. He made a lame statement on Oct. 8 about supporting "peaceful efforts" by Trump, but that's it. Xi doesn't seem to have said anything at all.

Both men have made it their respective nations' primary goal to unseat the global hegemon (hey, that's us!) and overturn the post-WWII order established by the U.S. Yet when it came to the biggest and most elusive peace deal in the Middle East in almost 50 years, absolutely nobody looked to Moscow or Beijing.

All eyes were on Washington and Donald Trump.

When Trump made appearances in Israel and Egypt on Monday, it might have been the greatest day in American diplomacy since Reagan traveled to West Berlin and demanded, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Speaking of losers and obstructionists, this section wouldn't be complete without discussing our political rivals-turned-mortal-enemies here at home.

You know, the Democrats.

With a few welcome exceptions, the Donks seemed none-too-pleased with the ceasefire. You know, the one they spent two years demanding Israel impose on itself before Hamas would (ha-ha) release the hostages.

Then there's former-pseudo-President Joe Biden, who lamely tried to claim Trump's deal as at least partly his own. "The road to this deal was not easy," Biden said in a statement. "My Administration worked relentlessly to bring hostages home, get relief to Palestinian civilians, and end the war. I commend President Trump and his team for their work to get a renewed ceasefire deal over the finish line."

Renewed? The gall of that man (or his handlers)! The ceasefire that Biden tried to get done didn't require Hamas to return the hostages, or much of anything else, really. Biden's deal was essentially a demand that Israel return to the status quo ante bellum — it was no deal at all.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris also released a statement, but couldn't bring herself to mention Trump by name.

Barack Obama was off sulking somewhere. The best he could manage was a lame statement — like Putin, a week ago — that also somehow failed to mention Trump. Or as Gad Saad put it, "Mr. Hussain has mastered the art of never saying anything of any substance."

Going a bit further left — but only a bit — Zohran Mamdani's Democratic Socialists of America claimed that the ceasefire "will not end Israel’s assault on the Palestinian people or the theft and occupation of Palestinian lands," nor does it "wash the hands of the ruling class."

All that is to be expected, today's Democrats being who they are. Hell, yesterday's Democrats, too — does anyone else still remember the furiously wadded panties in response to Reagan's Berlin Wall speech? Because I do.

What was less expected, but very much appreciated, was the global response this week, and from some prominent Democrats and lefties, too. 

It goes almost without saying that the Israeli Prime Minister and the Israeli Knesset were effusive. Perhaps never before has an American president enjoyed such a response addressing their government, and certainly never before has an American, period, been nominated for that country's top prize. But that's exactly what Netanyahu did on Monday before Trump departed Israel for Egypt.

When he wasn't trying to steal the spotlight, Starmer said flat-out that the deal "would not have happened without President Trump's leadership," in reply to a question about whether POTUS deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.

Macron's praise was much more reserved in his praise — he is French, after all —  and when he wrote that "France will be involved in every stage of President Trump’s plan," I couldn't help but wonder whether that was a promise or a threat. But at least he isn't sabotaging the deal... yet.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — a frequent critic of Trump over trade policy — said he and his government "support President Trump’s sincere efforts to bring peace to the region," and praised his "unwavering peace efforts."

Another frenemy, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, effused that "Peace has been achieved after untiring efforts. Efforts led by President Trump who is genuinely a man of peace." He also said he was likely to nominate Trump for the Nobel.

Good Lord, even Hamas? "Without the personal interference of President Trump in this case, I don’t think that it would have happened, to have reached the end of the war," Dr. Basem Naim, a physician and senior Hamas official, told Sky News over the weekend.

This year's Peace Prize went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who dedicated the award partly to Trump. "I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!" she posted to X on Saturday.

Here at home, more than a few Democrats crossed the aisle, hands extended.

Bill Clinton heaped praise on Trump on Monday. "President Trump and his administration, Qatar, and other regional actors deserve great credit for keeping everyone engaged until the agreement was reached," the former president wrote. 

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) was unequivocal in his praise.

A weight has been lifted off the world as the remaining hostages are released. Amazing day for the families, and for @POTUS and all the negotiators who made this day possible. Let’s honor their return by staying committed to lasting peace so another October 7 never happens again. https://t.co/eghpcWGBHy

— Congressman Jared Moskowitz (@RepMoskowitz) October 13, 2025

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) gave full "Credit to @POTUS for a breakthrough ceasefire of this awful war."

Et tu, James Carville?

On the Politics War Room podcast, Carville and his co-host Al Hunt, both vocal critics of Trump, took some time to praise the current peace deal in place, which saw the release of hostages from Gaza. Hunt said the president is “deservedly” celebrating and applauded him for accomplishing what former President Joe Biden “should have done” while he was in office.

Even Biden's former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan — whose worse-than-useless advice helped get the world into several messes on Biden's watch — had nothing but nice things to say. "I give credit to President Trump. I give credit to Witkoff and Kushner and [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio," he told CNN on Sunday. 

Not bad for a guy who, just last week, was the "no respect" guy — when he wasn't a global anathema and a fascist dictator.

Allow me to wrap this up with a tiny bit of PJ Media inside baseball.

The whole team, spread all over the world, maintains a constant conversation, every day of the week, through Slack. We have Slack channels full of random discussions, suggested reading, funny memes, story ideas, etc.

One channel is devoted to Claimed Stories, so we can avoid writing duplicate news items — or at least make sure that our similar items aren't too similar.

Here's the claim I filed on Wednesday, unsure of exactly what it was or when I might write it: "Having a thought… it isn’t finished yet… Trump 45 undid Obama’s Mideast policy and the world fought him every step of the way. Trump 47 undid Obama’s Mideast policy AGAIN (after a redo under Biden) to near universal acclaim. What changed?"

Managing Editor Chris Queen — because he's smart like this — suggested that it might make a good topic for a Thursday Essay.

So here we are, essay nearly complete, and I still don't have a satisfactory answer to what changed between 2019 (2020 doesn't factor into anything except COVID and election shenanigans) and 2025?

The best I could come up with isn't even original, but it's all I've got.

So here you go: "Blessed are the peacemakers."

Last Thursday: Superman Must Be Destroyed