Trump’s Lebanon Negotiations Are Breaking the Country

It’s an all-too-familiar scene: U.S. President Donald Trump addressing the media from the Oval Office as cabinet members and foreign dignitaries take turns lavishing praise on him. Recently, this scene transpired with Trump flanked by the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors, alongside Vice President J.D.

Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They had just concluded a second round of U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Lebanese talks, and Trump had announced a three-week extension of the countries’ cease-fire. When Trump called on the Lebanese ambassador to speak, she made sure to thank him effusively. “I want to really say thank you to the United States under your leadership, for all your effort to help and to support Lebanon,” said Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad. “And I think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great again.” “Thank you, I like that phrase,” Trump said. “It’s a good phrase.” Hamadeh was flattering Trump a day after Israel had killed and wounded dozens in Lebanon, despite a U.S.-declared cease-fire. The dead included a prominent Lebanese journalist , whom the Israeli military had repeatedly bombed and then prevented first responders from reaching. The Oval Office event, on April 23, was viewed as deeply embarrassing by many in Lebanon. It was also consistent with how the Trump administration has managed Israel-Lebanon talks, which have abased Lebanon’s leaders without even providing a real cease-fire in exchange. Several recent Foreign Policy pieces have imagined more responsible, or “serious” ways that the United States could work toward its stated aims of brokering peace between Lebanon and Israel while dismantling Hezbollah. Yet these recommendations implicitly assume that the United States is a good-faith mediator here. Instead, by forcing Lebanon’s leaders to negotiate on Israel’s terms, it is already discrediting them—and pushing the country toward a political crisis.

Key points

• Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
• They had just concluded a second round of U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Lebanese talks, and Trump had announced a three-week extension of the countries’ cease-fire.
• When Trump called on the Lebanese ambassador to speak, she made sure to thank him effusively.
• “I want to really say thank you to the United States under your leadership, for all your effort to help and to support Lebanon,” said Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad.
• “And I think with your help, with your support, we can make Lebanon great again.” “Thank you, I like that phrase,” Trump said.