President Donald Trump alluded to the weak world leaders present at Monday’s world summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on the future of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, with an indirect rebuke of their counterproductive role in concluding Israel’s war against the terrorist movement Hamas.
When asked about world leaders he viewed as weak at the meeting site in Egypt, Trump said: “I won’t comment on that. But you probably know who they are… There were a few in the room.”
As Western leaders and the United Nations Secretary General sought to share the spotlight of Trump’s success in the Middle East that ended the war between Hamas and Israel, veteran Middle East observers note that Trump mainly expressed his gratitude to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but also to Qatar and Egypt, while abandoning traditional Western allies left.
TRUMP PLANS WHIRLWIND TRIP TO ISRAEL AND EGYPT BEFORE GOING BACK TO WHITE HOUSE FOR CHARLIE KIRK HONOR
President Donald Trump poses with the signed agreement at a summit of world leaders on ending the Gaza war, amid a US-mediated hostage swap and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. (REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)
NETANYAHU CALLS TRUMP ISRAEL’S ‘GREATEST FRIEND’ AS LAST LIVING HOSTAGES RELEASED
On Sunday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee issued a sharp rebuke to British Education Minister Bridget Phillipson, stating: “We have played a key role behind the scenes in shaping this” regarding Trump’s peace performance. Huckabee fired back: “I assure you she is delusional. She can thank @realDonaldTrump at any time to make things right.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has been criticized by Trump for his initiative to recognize a Palestinian state. Trump previously said about Macron’s role in recognizing a Palestinian state: “What he says doesn’t matter.”
Observers also pointed to an awkward 26-second handshake during the summit between the two in Egypt on Tuesday.
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio blasted Australia, Canada, Britain and France for recognizing a Palestinian state because it makes it “more difficult” to end the war. Rubio added that accepting a Palestinian state “emboldens” Hamas. Rubio said he had conveyed the US position to his Western allies.
Ret. British Colonel Richard Kemp, who spent time in Gaza during the more than two-year war, wrote on
This is happening now in spite of all these people, thanks to one man who said to their faces in front of the whole world: I don’t care what you say or do, I will help Israel open the gates of hell unless the hostages come home now.
US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands as they pose for a photo, at a summit of world leaders on ending the war in Gaza, amid a US-mediated prisoner and hostage exchange and a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. (REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)
He added: “It’s also a lesson for what comes next: Trump holds the cards for success or failure in demilitarizing Gaza and deradicalizing the Palestinians. If Trump lets the Europeans or the UN take control, his plan is doomed; if he hangs his Sword of Damocles over the process, he may still succeed.”
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff later thanked the British National Security Advisor in a statement on
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
US President Donald Trump (R) greets UN Secretary General António Guterres during a summit of European and Middle Eastern leaders on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. President Trump is in Egypt to meet with leaders from Europe and the Middle East in what is being billed as an international peace summit, following the start of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement to end the war in the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Evan Vucci – Pool/Getty Images)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who also flew to Egypt for the signing, has faced intense criticism in German media for basking in Trump’s triumph after imposing an arms embargo on the Israeli army. Israeli tanks depend on German technological components and Merz banned deliveries.
On the website of the conservative news channel NIUS, its editor-in-chief, Julian Reichelt, said that Merz “provided Hamas with air support while denying Israel the weapons it needed to fight Hamas. He withdrew support for the Jews but increased financial support for the proven Hamas front organization UNRWA, which was directly involved in the October 7 attack.” The air force reference was Merz’s decision to send humanitarian aid to Gaza through airlift deliveries. Hamas has repeatedly stolen aid intended for the Palestinian people.
