TRUMP’S YEAR-END POLICY FOCUS: Trump has spent the last week of the year focused on foreign policy while residing at Mar-a-Lago, where he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss ending the war with Russia and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss ongoing peace efforts in Gaza, disarming Hamas, strikes in Iran and an “understanding” regarding Syria.
He announced military strikes against ISIS in Nigeria on Christmas Day and revealed he targeted a Venezuelan facility on Dec. 26. This string of events at the end of the year underscores the president’s focus on foreign policy during his second term, The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports.
The president, now in his last term, is seeking to establish his legacy around the world as a dealmaker, and as a peacemaker.
▪ The Hill: Trump shows foreign policy focus to end 2025
NETANYAHU MEETING: Trump and Netanyahu on Monday were in lockstep during their after-meeting news conference, The Hill’s Filip Timotija and Colin Meyn report.
Trump said Israel had lived up to its ceasefire commitments “100 percent,” despite the U.S. reportedly scolding Netanyahu for killing a top Hamas military leader earlier this month.
A main focus was pressure on Hamas to disarm, with Trump saying the militant group would be “wiped out” if it refused to abide by its commitments in the second phase of the U.S.-brokered peace plan.
Trump also expressed support for U.S. strikes against Iran for Tehran’s purported extension of its ballistic missile program as well as for Israel’s potential military action against the country. Despite the language, he reiterated the U.S. is open to holding discussions with Tehran regarding its nuclear program.
The president also said he and Netanyahu have an “understanding regarding Syria,” adding that he was “sure” Israel and Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, would get along, Timotija and Meyn report.
Trump also discussed a potential pardon for Netanyahu’s fraud and bribery charges, saying that Israeli President Isaac Herzog was on board. Herzog denied that claim.
▪ The Hill: Trump backs Israeli strikes on Iran if ballistic missile tests continue.
With this year’s focus on foreign policy and solving international disputes, many of the president’s allies have said he is deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize, with Trump himself even quipping that he deserves it during an earlier meeting with Netanyahu.
But not everyone in the president’s party agrees with Trump’s foreign policy work, including Greene, who has said the president should be more focused on domestic issues. The Georgia Republican is an outlier, however, as she’s broken with the president publicly many times recently.
Polling has shown voters, too, have not necessarily rewarded Trump for his focus on foreign affairs.
A Quinnipiac University poll published earlier this month found Trump’s overall approval was at just 40 percent, while 54 percent of survey respondents disapprove. The poll found that 41 percent approved of his handling of foreign policy, compared with 54 percent who disapproved.
US ATTACKS FACILITY IN VENEZUELA: Few details are known about an attack that Trump has said “knocked out” a “big” facility in Venezuela as the administration continues to put pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump said this during a Friday appearance on the “Cats & Cosby” show on New York’s WABC radio and lauded the attacks on purported drug-smuggling boats in the region, The Hill’s Filip Timotija reports.
“We just knocked out — I don’t know if you read or you saw — they have a big plant or big facility where they send the, you know, where the ships come from,” the president told hosts John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby. “Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard.”
On Monday, Trump shed some more light on the attack, saying the U.S. personnel hit an “implementation” area.
"We hit all the boats and now we hit the area, it’s the implementation area. That’s where they implement. And that is no longer around,” the president said at Mar-a-Lago while taking questions alongside Netanyahu.
Trump said there was a “major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” adding it took place “along the shore.”
If confirmed, it would be the first land strike in Venezuela since the Trump administration began a pressure campaign against Maduro and since U.S. forces started striking alleged drug-trafficking boats in September.
▪ The New York Times: CIA conducted drone strike on port in Venezuela
▪ The Hill: US military says it killed 2 ‘narco-terrorists’ in eastern Pacific
ISSUES REMAIN IN UKRAINE PEACE TALKS: The president on Monday said that he had spoken with Putin but that there were still “very thorny issues” to get through before solidifying a peace plan with Ukraine, Samuels reports.
Trump was expected to call the Russian leader following his Sunday meeting with Zelensky. And, though the exact details of which issues were the most difficult to negotiate with Putin are unclear, it is known that land ownership is a particular sticking point.
Additionally, Trump expressed frustration at Ukraine for claims from Russian officials saying that a Ukrainian drone attacked one of Putin’s residences, something Kyiv has denied, The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell reports.
“It’s one thing to be offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that. … I was very angry about it,” Trump said, adding that he learned of the alleged attack during his call with Putin.
Also, following Sunday’s meeting to discuss the Ukrainian president’s 20-point peace plan, Zelensky said Monday that he asked Trump for the U.S. to commit to security guarantees for decades, and that Trump said he would consider it.
▪ The New York Times: Trump, Pressing Ahead on Ukraine-Russia Talks, Confronts Difficult Realities.
▪ The Hill: GOP Rep. Bacon criticizes Trump for remarks about alleged Ukraine attack on Putin residence.
