President Donald Trump gave a stirring speech in Saudi Arabia this week of what might be termed an outline of the "Trump Doctrine," a revival of peace through strength, but recognizing that you don't always have to be interventionist.
.@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
"Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tired divisions of the past and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos," the president said, "where it exports technology, not terrorism; and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other out of existence — we don't want that."
He skewered those who failed, saying that, "in the end, the so-called 'nation builders' wrecked far more nations than they built, and the interventionalists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves. They told you how to do it, but they had no idea how to do it themselves."
In that, you can see how ridiculous the "dictator" talk about Trump is. He's the man of the Abraham Accords, who brought more peace in the Middle East, who's trying even now to bring peace to Ukraine. But he's also the guy who will act with strength and take out people who attack us; he will put America first.
How unique was that speech? Even Bill Maher thought it was a radically different take, on HBO's "Real Time" show on Friday, which included guest Scott Jennings.
Warning for graphic language:
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
Jennings then went on to say how we [the Republicans] had always been "war and peace," that Trump had changed it to "peace and war."
"He talks about peace more than he talks about war. He's still hawkish enough to bomb people who need to be bombed like the Houthi rebels," Jennings said. He's "Peace through Strength," like Reagan.
Jennings continued, "Putting peace ahead of war is pretty popular with the American people." That got big applause from Maher's audience, which Jennings termed a seismic shift.
It's not just foreign policy where Trump is bringing transformative change in policy, bringing the government back to reality and more in touch. You can also see it by moving the FBI out of its ivory tower in D.C. and to middle America.
Jennings spoke about breaking up that D.C. concentration to put the workers into the middle of the country, so they would have a "better understanding":
NEW: Scott Jennings says D.C. elites are completely out of touch—and it’s time they get a dose of real America.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) May 17, 2025
When asked about Kash Patel’s plan to relocate FBI employees out of Washington, @ScottJenningsKY endorsed it before torching the Beltway establishment.… pic.twitter.com/wTGDEwwdc5
That also got a lot of cheers.
Peace through strength, and getting more in touch with what Americans want. It's hard to argue with that as a doctrine.
Team Trump has been thinking outside the box, and it’s refreshing after four years of Biden malaise.
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