By Mark M. Bello

Let’s begin with a confession:

I find it extraordinarily difficult to praise anything Donald Trump does.

Maybe I’m biased. Or maybe, just maybe, I’m observant. When Trump takes a victory lap, I reflexively look for the fine print — it’s always there, buried beneath the boasting, self-promotion, and revisionist history that makes him the chosen one, his supporters’ Orange Jesus.

Did he also part the Red Sea?

But is this latest “deal” — the Gaza ceasefire and hostage exchange — a real step toward peace?

Or another episode of Trump’s never-ending reality show?

Let’s separate substance from spectacle, shall we?

Reluctant Credit: Yes, He Helped

Begrudgingly, I concede: Trump deserves some credit.

After years of carnage and stalemate, guns have temporarily gone silent, and 20 hostages have come home. Lives have been saved. Talks resumed. Regional powers, including Egypt and Qatar, joined the table. And by most credible accounts, Trump and his team pushed hard — leveraging U.S. influence with Israel, corralling reluctant Arab states, and giving Netanyahu political cover to stand down. Analysts at Brookings, CFR, and CSIS all agree that his fingerprints are on the ceasefire.

So yes, he did something.

But as always with Trump, the problem isn’t the act — it’s the performance.

Saint Donald, the Self-Anointed

No legitimate statesman has ever claimed sole ownership of a fragile peace.

Not one.

Not Truman or Churchill. Not Carter or Clinton. Not even Sadat or Rabin. Only despots and dictators turn diplomacy into a one-man show.

Only Donald Trump.

Trump’s insistence that he alone is responsible for ending the war tells us everything about his style — and his insecurity. He’s not a unifier or a strategist. He’s a marketer, selling himself as a savior. This man cannot share credit—he must dominate the narrative, even when others — diplomats, mediators, regional leaders — do the real heavy lifting.

So instead of dignified diplomacy, we get the usual Trumpian theater: self-promotion masquerading as statesmanship. And predictably, it cheapens what might otherwise have been a meaningful achievement.

Celebration or Shiva?

While Trump was busy collecting applause, Israelis were dancing in the streets, waving flags, and celebrating the return of 20 hostages. And I get it — any life saved is worth celebrating.

But let’s be honest: Israel also released hundreds of convicted Palestinian prisoners — many of them dangerous militants — to bring the hostages home. Hundreds of Israelis died on October 7. Hundreds more during the war. Dozens died in captivity.

So, what, exactly, are we celebrating?

In Jewish tradition, times like this call for reflection, for Shiva, for solemn remembrance — not triumphalism. The symbolism feels wrong: a nation still grieving, a region still burning, and a former president taking bows as if he just ended World War II. Did we celebrate the return of survivors after 6 million died in the Holocaust? Privately, solemnly, yes. Publicly dancing in the square? Hardly. Maybe this is a bad analogy, but it troubles me. Did the joyous celebrants consider the families of those who didn’t make it?

Meanwhile, Hamas Lives.

If the Trump team truly believes Hamas has been defeated, they’re deluding themselves. Credible reports (Reuters, Bild, and others) suggest Hamas has reoccupied parts of Gaza not held by Israeli forces. These terrorists reportedly executed rival clan leaders and “suspected collaborators.” In some districts, they’ve resumed policing, patrolling, and rebuilding their networks.

In other words: they’re down, not out.

This so-called peace has done little to dislodge the very organization that ignited the war. Instead, it risks giving Hamas breathing room — time to rearm, regroup, and terrorize anew. And when that happens (not if), Trump’s “Nobel moment” will look less like a breakthrough and more like a blunder.

So, who Really Drew the Line?

Here’s the truth:

This deal happened not because of Trump, but because Israel finally said enough.

After years of fighting, mounting casualties, and relentless international pressure, Israel had squeezed Gaza dry. There was no “victory” left to claim, only humanitarian catastrophe and global condemnation. The Israeli government — with quiet support from Washington and a few friendly Arab states — decided to pivot. They saw the writing on the wall. They didn’t need Trump to tell them the obvious: the region had reached its breaking point.

So yes, Trump facilitated the fragile truce. But let’s be real — it was inevitable. He didn’t create peace; he merely arrived when everyone else was too exhausted to keep fighting.

And what kind of deal is he crowing about? Call it what you will — a ceasefire, a framework, a plan — but it isn’t peace. It’s a pause. The agreement is vague, unenforceable, and, by most expert assessments, doomed to unravel. Hamas hasn’t disarmed. Israel hasn’t fully withdrawn. No credible governance structure exists for Gaza. And where are the enforcement mechanisms?

What’s really being achieved here, besides a political reprieve and a brief news cycle of applause? At best, Israel buys time to rebuild and regroup. At worst, Hamas regroups, too. The only certain winner so far is Trump — politically and personally — basking in his favorite Trump the Deal-Maker illusion.

The Verdict

So yes, Donald Trump deserves some credit — a momentary nod — for nudging a battered region toward a temporary calm. But don’t kid yourselves. This is not the Camp David Accords. It’s not Oslo. It’s not even a durable ceasefire.

It’s a PR event dressed up as diplomacy, a photo op disguised as history.

Trump calls it peace. I call it political theater with better lighting.

If peace ever comes to Gaza, it will be because cooler heads and moral courage prevailed — not because one self-absorbed man craved applause. This “deal” is another of the many Trump productions: heavy on self-congratulation, light on substance, and destined to collapse under the weight of its own exaggeration.

Such is American and international life under the leadership of Donald J. Trump.

Mark M. Bello is an attorney and author of 9 Zachary Blake Legal Thrillers and other legal themed novels and children’s books. For more information, please visit https://www.markmbello.com

Bob Gatty Author, Podcaster, Blogger

For many years, Bob Gatty worked as a writer, editor, and communications consultant, based on the Washington, DC area with a focus on government and politics. He began at The Pittsburgh Courier, an African American weekly, covering crime and the courts. His salary was $55 per week before moving on to two local Pennsylvania dailies. At age 24, he began reporting for United Press International covering state politics in Pennsylvania and then New Jersey, where he was UPI’s state capitol bureau in Trenton.

Tempted by the allure of Washington, DC and big-time politics, at age 29 Bob became press secretary and chief of staff for two Congressmen – first Republican Edwin B. Forsythe, and then Democrat James J. Florio, who later became governor of New Jersey and until his recent death was a frequent podcast guest and co-host of Bob’s NFN Radio News podcast (now called Lean to the Left).

After seven years on Capitol Hill, Bob opened a communications business in Washington, first providing political media consulting to candidates and then freelance Washington coverage for business and trade magazines, plus creative communications services for trade and professional associations, including social media. This work involved articles and analyses of key governmental developments affecting businesses, such as the food and Health industries, retailing, and the environment.

His work as a communications consultant to trade and professional associations included launching and editing association publications, providing website content and social media assistance, and covering conferences and conventions.

Bob retired from G-Net Strategic Communications in 2016 and moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, where he launched his blog site, first called Not Fake News, now known as Lean to the Left.

Hijacked Nation
In August, 2020, Bob and co-author Chris Waldron, one of Lean to the Left's most loyal and prolific contributor, published "Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump's Attack on America's Greatness," a two-volume compilation of blogs regarding Trump's presidency and the consequences for our nation. A followup volume was published by Luna Global Media in September 2024. It is available at https://amzn.to/4ePrTF7 .

In all three volumes, blogs from Not Fake News and Lean to the Left create a virtual play-by-play of key actions of the Trump administration and Congress. For more information, please visit https://leantotheleft.net/books/, and visit Bob's Author's Page on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/stores/Bob-Gatty/author/B08C7HWXZ5?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=4e603563-7251-4074-b54d-40800c4ce40a.

The Lean to the Left Podcast
The Lean to the Left podcast provides commentary and interviews with newsmakers and others with interesting stories to tell. Video and audio podcasts stream twice weekly on major channels. More info at https://podcast.leantotheleft.net.

The Lean to the Left YouTube Channel
You'll find all of the audio tracks for the Lean to the Left Podcast here plus original videos, including complete video versions of each podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/@LeantotheLeft.