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President Donald Trump was praised on Monday by members of the media after securing a peace deal between Hamas and Israel as all 20 living Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity.
“You’re right, we don’t know how the story ends,” Jon Meacham, a presidential historian, said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday. “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 said it was a “terrific day” for Trump and the hostage families.
Meacham, along with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, praised Trump for the deal on Thursday, with the historian calling it “remarkable.”
FROM GRIEF TO GRATITUDE: TRUMP PRAISED AS ISRAELIS CELEBRATE HAMAS HOSTAGE DEAL IN TEL AVIV
President Donald Trump addresses the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Oct. 13, 2025, in Jerusalem. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas began Monday, with Hamas releasing the final 20 living hostages in exchange for Israel freeing 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The release was part of a sweeping 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the conflict and rebuilding Gaza. So far, only four of the 28 presumed dead hostages have been returned.
Former CNN journalist Chris Cillizza said people who weren’t giving Trump credit for the peace deal were “blind.”
Former President Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that the president deserved credit.
“Of course he does. And I give credit to President Trump, I give credit to [Steve] Witkoff and [Jared] Kushner and [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio. These are hard jobs. The president of the United States is the hardest job in the world, and these other jobs, including the job I occupied, are tremendously difficult,” Sullivan responded.
“And to get to something like today takes a village, and it takes determination and really hard work, and so I, without question, offer credit for that,” Sullivan added.
TRUMP HAILED AS PEACEMAKER WORTHY OF NOBEL PRIZE FOR ‘HISTORIC’ ISRAEL-HAMAS PEACE DEAL
People wave U.S. and Israeli flags as they watch President Donald Trump address the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on a giant screen in Hostages Square on Oct. 13, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
CNN’s Clarissa Ward described the scene in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sunday and said the crowd lauded the president.
“And I have to say, everywhere you go here, there are posters of Trump, we have seen people who have made artifacts dedicated to Trump. Fair to say that President Trump is possibly even more popular here than he is in the United States,” she said.
CNN host Abby Phillip called out former President Obama on Saturday for not naming Trump specifically in his post about the peace deal.
“Honestly, it’s not unfair to say, if President Obama is going to write a whole post about a peace deal, maybe he should acknowledge the president who brokered it,” she said during CNN’s “Table for Five.”
Obama’s social media post about the deal did not mention Trump.
WORLD LEADERS PRAISE ‘LANDMARK’ ISRAEL-HAMAS PEACE DEAL MEDIATED BY US: ‘NEW HORIZON OF HOPE’
Former President Barack Obama speaks at the Obama Foundation Democracy Forum on Dec. 5, 2024, in Chicago. (Erin Hooley/AP Photo )
Phillip was asked to explain her remarks in a video posted by journalist Nicholas Ballasy.
“I think it’s the end of an incredible amount of bloodshed. And just, there are real human beings on the other side of this and if it is successful, everybody should be happy about it. And it should be no problem saying that President Trump’s responsible for it. You don’t have to endorse everything that he does to say that there’s a thing that he’s done that is important for the world. So I think that’s a pretty straightforward thing to say. I actually don’t think it’s all that controversial,” Phillip told Ballasy.
“I think if you can’t say that ending a deadly war that has killed so many children and human beings is a good thing, I think you need to take a look at your gut and find out what’s going on there. This is, everybody wants this to end and if he’s able to get it done, he deserves credit for it,” the CNN host continued.
Axios reporter Marc Caputo wrote on social media, “The people who said they wanted peace but now seem unhappy with peace never really wanted peace.”
NEW YORK TIMES ANALYSIS SAYS TRUMP HAS LEGITIMATE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE CLAIM IF MIDEAST PEACE DEAL HOLDS
During “The View” on Monday, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said the president and members of his team deserved credit.
“Listen, whether you like Trump or not, I think he, I think Steve Witkoff, and I think Jared Kushner, do deserve credit for this deal. They personally met with Hamas. I used to be of the mind we don’t negotiate with terrorists, but sometimes the only way to get peace is to sit down with some of the most evil people and try to come up with what we can do to end the bloodshed. So thank God, I pray that this peace holds,” Griffin said.
Several key Democrats also praised the president in the wake of the deal, including Hillary Clinton.
TRUMP SAYS ‘WHOLE WORLD CAME TOGETHER’ TO SECURE ISRAEL-HAMAS PEACE DEAL AFTER MONTHS OF DEADLOCK
Hillary Clinton speaks during the “A Special Evening With Hillary Clinton” at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival at Theater des Westens on Feb. 19, 2024, in Berlin, Germany. (Franziska Krug/Getty Images)
“I really commend President Trump and his administration, as well as Arab leaders in the region for making the commitment to the 20-point plan and seeing a path forward for what’s often called the day after,” Clinton told CBS’ Norah O’Donnell on Friday.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris was also asked if Trump should be commended for the deal during an interview with MSNBC’s “The Weekend” that aired on Sunday.
“I don’t think that we should hold any credit where it’s due. I mean, first of all, let me say about that deal. I really do hope it becomes real, and that the hostages are out, that Gaza is no longer being treated with such brutality of force, that aid goes in. And I commend the people who have been a part of this process. I commend the Qataris, the Egyptians and the president,” she said.
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Emerge 20th Anniversary Gala in San Francisco, California, on April 30, 2025. (CAMILLE COHEN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
