A Tale of Two Trumps

What the Witkoff Trump and the Huckabee Trump tell us about the President's view on Israel.

By Michael Oren

I’m often asked in Israeli news interviews about President Donald Trump’s worldview, interests, and plans. Unfortunately, the president does not call me daily to share his intentions. Nevertheless, even without that phone call, it is possible to understand the president—both sides of him.

There is the Witkoff Trump who, like his special envoy, is the transactional Trump who wants to end the war in Gaza with a hostage-for-ceasefire deal. But then there is also the Huckabee Trump who, like his ambassador to Israel, would like to move most of the Palestinian population out of Gaza and transform it into a Mediterranean Riviera. Its hotels, one might assume, will be staffed by Israeli Jews.

Yet, irrespective of whether he’s the Witkoff or the Huckabee variety, whether he wants the war in Gaza to end by diplomatic or military means, President Trump wants it to end quickly. Only then can he proceed to achieve what both Trumps, the Witkoff and the Huckabee, ultimately want. Trump wants to make peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. He wants to enlist other Arab and Muslim countries in the Abraham Accords. He wants a Nobel Peace Prize. He can accomplish none of that as long as the war in Gaza rages. That is why, one way or another, Israel must conclude this war quickly.

Nobody in Israel will disagree. Our society is tired of war, many of our soldiers beyond fatigued, and we’re desperate to see our hostages freed. But we also know that Hamas will never release all the hostages and, if allowed to win the war, will reorganize, rearm, and prepare to launch the next October 7. Quite possibly, the military option is the only viable one, but it cannot, as IDF commanders have estimated, take months.

The president also likes winners—if the IDF had killed the heads of Hamas in Doha, he would have taken credit for the operation instead of condemning it. He likes winners and he likes them fast. He doesn’t have to call us every day to tell us what all of us already know: having chosen the military path in Gaza, Israel must complete it not only swiftly but also successfully.