Secretary of State Briefly Halts Trump with Handwritten Note on Middle East Peace Deal
A urgent handwritten note delivered to Donald Trump by his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, suggested that an declaration regarding a ceasefire deal in Gaza could be made very soon.
Recorded in a photograph, the note's contents encouraged the president to approve a message on his social media network to announce the news first.
"Nearly there," it stated, according to the image. "You are needed to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first."
Shortly after the note was seen, Trump posted on his Truth Social network, stating he was "extremely pleased" to reveal the initial stage of the agreement.
"This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released shortly, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Robust, Long-lasting, and Everlasting Peace," he wrote.
The Incident the Note Was Passed to Trump
Trump was conducting a roundtable event with right-leaning commentators about antifa when Rubio, positioned in the back corner of the White House's state room, got his attention.
He had news for Trump, he said, but it would have to wait until after the press left. Subsequently, Rubio passed the president the note.
"I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we're nearing completion to a deal on the Middle East, and they're gonna require my input pretty quickly," Trump announced. "Therefore, we will address a couple of more questions."
Behind the Scenes of the Peace Talks
The event had already been going on for more than an hour when Rubio came forward. The president welcomed him to come in, and Rubio quietly spoke something to Trump before giving him the note.
The note's urgent tone coincided with Trump's key regional advisor, Steve Witkoff, Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and other senior officials joined a third day of negotiations between Israel and Hamas at an Red Sea location – a indication that negotiators are working to dive deeply into the toughest issues of a US plan to halt hostilities in Gaza.
Trump's Remarks on Middle East Travel
Trump had kicked off the gathering by telling assembled journalists that he intended to travel to the Middle East "toward the end of the week" and could even "make the rounds" in the region to Egypt and possibly Gaza as US diplomats closed in on a deal.
Nevertheless, even after Rubio gave Trump the note, Trump kept speaking to the influencers and respond to queries from the media as the secretary of state became visibly anxious.
Concluding the Event
Nearly 10 minutes after his initial comments about departing, Trump said: "I must leave now to try and solve some problems in the Middle East – although I'm very well represented by our secretary of state. He could likely do an more effective job than me, but who knows."
"We wish to avoid to take any chances. So we're going to go and do that," Trump added.
He then suggested that Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem remain and answer inquiries in his absence. However, Trump kept fielding questions before the event finally broke up without Cabinet members remaining behind.
"We will achieve peace in the Middle East," Trump concluded by saying. "That is exactly what we want to do."