Historian and former speechwriter for former President Joe Biden, Jon Meacham, praised President Donald Trump on Monday for securing a peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
While appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Meacham called the peace deal - which has secured an end to the war and the return of the remaining hostages held by Hamas - a win for Trump.
"This is a victory for President Trump," he said.
HAMAS ACCEPTS TRUMP PEACE PLAN ENDING 2 YEARS OF WAR IN GAZA, RETURNING HOSTAGES
Hamas agreed last week to a peace deal pushed by Trump to end the war in Gaza and return the hostages, two years after the terrorist network attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Trump arrived in Israel Monday morning as Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
He gave a speech in the Israeli Knesset (parliament) marking the deal.
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"After two harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families," Trump said. "Twenty-eight more precious loved ones are coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil for all of time. And after so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace."
On "Morning Joe," Meacham said, "It's a terrific day for the hostage families. It's a terrific day for President Trump, for our national interests."
In response to show co-host Jonathan Lemire saying "we don't know" how long peace in the Middle East will last, Meacham replied, "You're right. We don't know how the story ends, but stories are made up of chapters."
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Meacham continued, "We can go on and on about the various chapters, but we should make no mistake about this. This is a victory for President Trump, and for those who wish that we can govern ourselves at home and around the world, not simply by brute force, but by ideas and civilized norms."
Meacham also praised the peace deal last Thursday when it was first announced.
"But the beginning of this chapter is remarkable. And one of the things about honesty and citizenship and a sense of, I would say, maturity about what people in a democracy should do is even if someone with whom you disagree about 99 things, does the 100 really well, you should say so, because that's what intellectual honesty is. And so all credit to President Trump and his, as you say, unconventional team," he told a "Morning Joe" panel.
