Though a rival on nearly all of President Trump’s policies, former Vice President Joe Biden has to give credit where credit is due, said national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
This week, Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to establish diplomatic relations in a historic deal Trump said he brokered.
Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee to take on Trump in November, praised the move, which comes after years of buildup between the two nations wary of threats posed by Iran.
“I think even Vice President Biden and Sen. Harris realize that this is a huge deal,” O’Brien said on Fox News’s The Story with Martha MacCallum.
Biden also claimed Israel’s relationships with Arab nations are a culmination of several administrations’ efforts, including that of former President Barack Obama, but O’Brien pushed back on that notion, saying this deal, in particular, was due to the Trump administration.
“I think Vice President Biden’s claim for some sort of credit in this deal is the sincerest form of flattery,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien also added Trump had cultivated trust in the Middle East that led to the development of stronger relations.
“The reason we were able to do this deal and others weren’t is because President Trump built up credibility and confidence in the region,” O’Brien said. “I think both parties, the Arab and the Israeli parties, realize that they can trust President Trump, they had confidence in him, he had a lot of credibility, and he used that political capital to help broker this deal.”
The deal also brings the UAE to recognize Israel, which most Arab nations have refused to do in support for Palestinian territorial claims.
