Coffee Conversations: King Abdullah, Trump Meeting

I wanted to talk about this video that's going around.

Middle East Eye?

Yes. Middle East Eye. Yeah. Correct. Middle East Eye, which is an Ihwani.

Affiliate I think it's I think it's what's his name? Bashara is the the guy who's the publisher of that or the editor or something.

Okay.

Who is affiliated affiliated with Ehwan of Rashid Hanushi's daughter.

Maybe a little bit background of who is Rashid Hanushi?

Oh, he's Ehwan from Tunisia from a party.

Yes.

Currently in prison.

This is the seventies, eighties? No.

No. No. Yeah. In the nineties and and and February.

Okay.

I mean, was after the Arab Spring, he was elected or the party was elected and then thrown out and he's in jail now. But anyway, his daughter, sounding conspicuously like Margaret Thatcher, she said Okay. There's a few things in what she said. I won't I won't critique every single thing that she said. I mean, the beginning the beginning is diplomacy is about power, which no, it's not actually.

Not in the way you mean it. Diplomacy isn't about power in the way you mean it. The way you mean it, you don't need diplomacy. It's the opposite of what diplomacy it's the opposite of diplomacy by by what you mean by power, which is then clearer by what she says further, which is that you think that you're supposed to exert power. That's what diplomacy is.

That's the opposite of diplomacy. That's the absence of diplomacy. Mhmm. Diplomacy is about power in so far as it's about power dynamics.

Yeah.

And understanding what the realities are of the power dynamics that you are in relative to the other party. She's she's saying all of this about diplomacy is power and so on. She says about power and leverage and knowing when to stand firm and on and on and on. As you're saying all of this in relation to the meeting between Donald Trump and King Abdullah of Jordan. And he has been sort of raked over the coals for what is the perception that he was very timid in his meeting with Trump.

Because Trump at the at this meeting, at the press conference, apparently it was supposed to be a private meeting that King Abdullah didn't know was going to be a press conference.

I see.

That's what she said. I don't know that. I don't know if that's true or not. I don't know all the details. Okay.

As you know, I haven't been well for the last few days, I wasn't following the news as closely. But, this I knew this was going to happen. I knew it did happen. I knew that they were gonna have a meeting, And then there was a press conference, which is normal, but she is saying that it was like an ambush. That he wasn't expecting it to be a public, public sort of questioning.

And that Trump, at the press conference, reiterates his desire for the Palestinians to be expelled from Gaza, for Jordan to take, and for Egypt to take Palestinians. He sort of concedes by saying what this this is the perception. He concedes to Trump's plan by saying that they will allow that they will bring 2,000 children from Gaza who are cancer patients or who are otherwise in need of urgent medical care, which is something that happens anyway. This is something that's already been happening since October 7, both into Egypt and into Jordan. This is not not something new, but it's something that he could say, Sure.

At the spur of the moment to sound diplomatic because that's what diplomacy is.

And

he's being he's being okay. First, she said what she said and she's she's criticizing

Abdullah.

Abdullah for his apparent timidity and for and for his apparent capitulation to Trump's so called plan. Okay? But then she herself, this is Rasha Rhanoushi's daughter. She herself says his his position is the right position, Abdullah, king Abdullah. His position is the right position.

It's the moral position. It's the legal position. It's the correct position and so on. So why couldn't he just say it? Okay?

One thing is, if you are acknowledging that the actual official position of the Jordanian government is the right position, the correct position, the moral position, the legal position, why are you talking?

Yeah. It goes without saying.

Why can't you just leave it at that? Yeah. Enough said. Alhamdulillah, they're taking the right position. Why do you have to keep talking?

Why is there anything else to say? But you just have to find something to criticize. You're trying to turn a perception into a reality. The the perception of his timidity into the reality of his capitulation, which is not true. After the meeting, the foreign ministry, the government of Jordan issued statements to clarify there will be no expulsion of Palestinians.

There will be no transfer of the Palestinians into Jordan and so on. At the meeting, whenever he was asked about this and whenever Trump said anything about it, King Abdullah said, let's wait and see what Egypt Egypt has a plan. Egypt is gonna propose a plan. These talks have not happened yet. Mhmm.

We're going to discuss this. Saudi Arabia is involved. We have to consider the interest of all parties and so on. In other words, Trump is is is blowing hot air. Okay?

People are reading it as timidity. I'm reading it as Wallahi, the correct position and and I've said it before and I've already said it more than once. Don't take a word, Trump says seriously. He knows perfectly well that what he is proposing is absolutely ludicrous. He knows absolutely that this plan is going nowhere and it was never intended to go anywhere.

And yet people are still talking about it and taking it seriously. And because you take it seriously, you think King Abdullah is supposed to take it seriously. Meanwhile, he's treating Trump like Trump is saying, I'm going to eat the moon. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Yes. We have mooncakes in Jordan. Yes. Yes.

We have. Yes. He's he's It's amusing that It's he's being diplomatic. Yeah. That's what diplomacy is.

And and he is using the leverage. Mhmm. The real leverage and the real power dynamics are that, yes, Trump has zero ability to impose the expulsion of the Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank or anywhere else. He has zero ability to do that. Everyone seems to know that except Middle East eye, except for the Ikhwan, except for the Islamist, except for the the people who love Iran, Hezbollah and so on, and except for these, you know, again, the Scott Ritter types, all of these, you know, the George Galloway types, all of these people who are absolutely possessed with a nostalgic vision of America that it still is this great superpower that can do whatever it wants.

That America is that it can just what it says You act like like America is It never was that, and it certainly isn't that now, and king Abdullah knows that. Mohammed bin Salman knows that. Abdul Fadha Hasisi knows that. Everyone in the region knows that, and Trump knows that.

What's funny is that these these lot of people would would not hesitate to dismiss be dismissive of Trump and ridicule him for things he says as just nonsense.

Right.

And then here he's saying something outlandish and you choose to take it seriously. Yeah.

Because because you have your own reasons. Right. Because actually, like I've said a million times, you are camouflaged neo cons.

Mhmm.

You're the last hope of the neo cons. These people are the last hope of the neo cons because you you're trying to stir up unrest, unhappiness, dissatisfaction, discontent, and uprising in the Muslim world. In exactly those countries that are standing firm, that are standing their ground, that are the only reason that the Palestinians are still in Gaza, and that is that the Palestinians are still in the West Bank. They're the only ones who are saying no. And for for you know, this is the other thing.

The people who talk about, like, what Sisi should do, what Abdullah should do, what bin Salman should do, what anyone else should do. I know I've talked about this before. But they're saying no to The United States when saying no has potential consequences. But they're doing it anyway. And then you ask what are they doing?

What are they doing for the Palestinians? They're putting their necks on the line. They're standing firm, they're standing their ground to make sure that the Palestinians that the Palestinians do not get expelled. If they if I won't say if they don't get expelled because they won't. It's not even that's not a thing.

Everyone should put that out of their heads. This is not a thing that can happen. It's absolute insanity. I mean look, I know I've said it already, but what what This is the the this is the idea. The idea is for the Arabs because, you know, we're going to move all of the Palestinians out of Gaza, whether it's to Egypt or Jordan or Switzerland, where it doesn't matter.

Greenland. And then you rebuild Gaza for the Jews. Who's buying that plan? Who on earth is buying that plan? What do you why does anyone take that seriously?

How can anyone take that seriously? What what possible reason would the Arabs spend a dime reconstructing Gaza except for the Gazans? For what possible reason would they build the what do you call it? The Riviera Of The Middle East for the Jews. For what?

You're you're out of your mind if you're taking this seriously at all. You're absolutely out of your mind. And and like you said, Trump says so many outlandish crazy things that everyone dismisses. But when he talks about this, you take it seriously. Again, because you have your own reasons.

Because she turns that whole thing that she turns the whole thing around even while acknowledging that that the actual position in reality of the Jordanian government is a a a complete and full rejection of Trump's so called plan. She acknowledges that. She recognizes that. But then she turns it into, well, they better reject it. Otherwise, the whole Arab world will rise and there will be the wrath of the people and they will, you know, they'll be toppled and they'll be taken down and they'll never be forgiven and they'll this and that and they'll the other.

And then the whole thing turns into a diatribe against the people who are actually standing firm for the Palestinians at a cost and a and a and a and a risk to themselves. The only ones who are taking a risk. Mhmm. Who who really you over there in America, you over there in The UK, you're not taking any risk to talk bravely in support of the Palestinians. There's no risk for you at all.

Okay. Maybe, you know, you you might get stopped by the police, you might get your Twitter account taken down, you know. That's the extent of the risk that you're facing. They're facing Yeah. Consequences.

Not not popular uprising. Yeah. But They're facing coup.

Yeah.

Organized, orchestrated coup or assassination. They're facing something real. You're not facing anything with all your brave talk. And and and the the the attitude of king Abdullah at that meeting was exactly what I'm saying, talking like I'm talking to a crazy aunt. Yes.

Yes. Yeah. You're right. Toast can speak. Yeah.

That's correct.

Anyone with this, you know, with sense can clearly see what's happening.

Yeah. Why am I going why am I going to why will I dignify what you're saying Yeah. With a serious answer at all? I will say we're going to do what we've been doing. We'll take injured, sick, ill, cancer patients or whatever from Gaza.

We'll do that. That's the thing that we'll do because we're already doing it.

So it's like the by the press conference with the Japanese, I know it's a bit off. You don't have to take it. You know? Just conversing. Yeah.

Like, he was saying something about tariffs, you know Yeah. The Japanese prime minister or something, To which he was just nonchalant, completely, you know. Talk about it when it actually happens. Something to that effect, you know?

Yeah.

He was not he was just not having he was just

Yeah. Because also, by the way, at that same I mean, if if if reality matters at all, if factual reality, you know, if you live in a reality based world, at that same meeting, Trump reiterated as of Saturday at noon, all of the hostages must be released by Hamas or all hell will break loose. Okay. Neither one of those things happened. All of the hostages were not released and also all hell did not break loose.

Yep. And Hillary wasn't

Because you don't have the power to make all hell break loose. Mhmm. You don't decide anything. This is what everyone should understand by now. Look, Trump said look, Trump said that, like within his first days of office, inflation would be over, would be finished.

Exit at an all time high price now in America. He said that oil would be down, the price of oil would be down. He was gonna drive the price of oil down. It's exactly the same as what it was a year ago. He threatened that they were gonna do this and that if they didn't release all the hostages on Saturday and didn't follow through on the ceasefire plan.

Everything is moving forward at their own pace. Mhmm. Because you can't dictate anything. And you think he can he can now decide that they have control over the Gaza Strip and we've decided that Arabs are gonna build it all up for the Jews? Do you understand how crazy that sounds?

Well, sounds that crazy to King Abdullah, to bin Salman, to everyone else, to Al Sisi, to everyone. It sounds crazy to everyone except for you people who are taking it seriously. And I understand why why Rasha Raghanoushi's daughter is taking it seriously because she has an agenda. She has a reason to take it seriously. But you're also causing panic among people who genuinely care about Gaza because these people don't care about Gaza.

They don't care one bit about the Palestinians. But there are people who do genuinely care about the Palestinians, who do genuinely care about Gaza, who it absolutely breaks their heart to imagine a world in which the Gazans are not in Gaza, where that land no longer is theirs. It's it's devastating for anyone to think about. A world where that could be the case. Well, good news is that it's not that's not a thing.

That's not a thing. There's no way that that can happen. And no one thinks it is. No one believes that. Except for maybe maybe Netanyahu.

But is your sanity at the same level as Netanyahu? Because if you believe it at all, then your then your own sanity is at the same level of health as Netanyahu's. You know? Because no one be no one is taking this seriously at all. And and Abdullah wasn't taking it seriously at that meeting.

But he also didn't want to be needlessly confrontational, needlessly combative, needlessly pound his chest or what have you, and say no, we will never believe that the moon is edible. You you look like a fool.

Yeah. He wasn't being a child. He was

And oh, yeah. That reminds me. There's another thing another thing that they're trying to do. Uh-huh. To say that The UAE that The UAE has broken ranks with all of the the rest of the Arab countries

Uh-huh.

Which by already is an acknowledgment that the Arab countries are united. But to say that they were that The UAE was breaking ranks with with the Arab countries and has have said that, well, it's maybe it's inevitable and there's no alternative to Trump's plan. This was a this was a thing that's going around, and there's an edited clip again by Middle East Eye where Youssef Oteba, the The UAE ambassador to America. Uh-huh. They have an edited clip where he's saying, can you get along with the Trump administration?

Well, we try to get along with everyone, and we try to, you know, be diplomatic. And then they have an edited part where they the the interviewer is asking him, do you is The UAE presenting any alternatives? And so they've they've it in such a way to make it sound like any alternatives to Trump's plan.

Right.

And he said, no no, we're not there's there is no alternative.

So they're doing a deceptive

They're making it very deceptive because actually what Uteiba is saying, what the the ambassador is saying is there is he's being completely dismissive of Trump's plan. Okay. Trump's plan is no alternative. What has been because he said in the clip, there's no alternative to what has been proposed. What has been proposed is the Arab Peace Plan of 2002 that everyone that the Arab League, that the OIC, that everyone, that the GCC, that the United Nations, that BRICS, that China, that Russia, that everyone in the world, that the global consensus is supporting.

So this is in the in its entirety. You can catch

You can yeah. He says all of this.

Yeah. So this is just pure mischievous. Yeah.

This is malicious editing. You're clearly working for the Zionists. Yeah. And you're clearly trying to undermine that solidarity that actually does exist. That unity that actually does exist.

That united stand that actually does exist. That you accidentally acknowledge exist by saying that The UAE is breaking ranks.

Right.

The reality is that there is absolute a 100% solidarity in the Arab world, in the Muslim world, and outside of the Muslim world in BRICS and all of the OIC, everyone is taking the same position, Palestinian state. Saudi Arabia, Palestinian state. Nothing happens without this. And and complete rejection of the expulsion of the Palestinians. Because obviously, no one accepts this.

Even France doesn't accept this. Like I said, it's not just the Muslims, it's not just the Arabs, even France doesn't accept it. Even other European countries don't accept it. Even the EU didn't accept it. Nobody accepts it.

There's only two people in the face of the earth that accept it. And that's the two delusional maniacs, Donald Trump and Netanyahu. And I don't even think Trump believes it for a second himself. I think the only one who's actually being led by the nose on this and what a nose it is is Netanyahu. No one else believes it except maybe Somaya Ghanoushi.

You know? But I don't even know if she believes it. I don't I don't know if these people can even process information properly because they're themselves are so they're so highly ideological that they can't even actually objectively process information themselves, You know?

Because you're just serving a function of the

Their their whole lens is skewed. Yeah. So so they never actually see things straight on. Everything is warped every every time. Yeah.

So they may not actually even be able to to perceive the fact that that there is actually the official position of the the of the of the government of Jordan. There's the official position of the government of Egypt. There's the official position of Saudi Arabia. And the rest of it is in your head. The rest of it is in your head.

So who's the author of all of that then? Who's the author of all of this suspicion and and all of this doubts and all of this slanders? It's not their actions. It's not reality. It's you thinking something about them that you have no basis upon which to think it.

You know, and and the it's just in the and subhanallah, it's just like with the Israelis all this time. The only way that you can the the only evidence that you can ever have of Arab complicity with the Zionist is just to lie. Mhmm. It's literally just to mix things up, to completely fabricate things. There's nothing factual that you can bring at all that will that will justify this accusation of complicity.

So just like with just like what the Zionists do, Middle East I was doing with this video of the UAE ambassador. Because very clearly what he's talking about is the united position of the Arab and Muslim world and everyone else. Everyone except for America and Israel. The entire world is taking the same position on this.

It's it's disgraceful.

It's it's absolutely disgraceful and you you really should be out of publication. Yeah. You shouldn't be, you know So

what serious should take you and your word at all?

At all. I don't know why anyone would would read it. Yeah. You've discredited yourselves horribly. You know?

What brings the question, like, who backs you up? Because clearly, you know, it's not just someone using a phone and, you know, mediocre equipment.

Yeah. Well, yeah. Well, they're funded, obviously.

Yeah.

I mean, their funding may go down now that that that the USAID is being defunded.

Right.

They're being shut down. A lot of these things are gonna probably be shut down because they were all getting money from USAID. And even the NED has been shut down, has been defunded. So all of these things and see that's another thing. Again, if you look at actual reality, all you see, the only people the only people that Trump is going after is America itself and their allies.

There's only ones he's actually going after is Europe and America itself. They're they're they're absolutely slaughtering.

Yeah. For which there are actual concrete consequences.

Yeah. They're they're They're actually doing things.

Yeah.

You know? They're actually cutting the funding. They're actually cutting departments, cutting jobs. They're gonna potentially shut down the Department of Education. It's not

perceptive. It's actual reality.

Yeah. This is what's actually happening. Yeah. Also the also the policies on tariffs. Trump is talking about giving the the Taiwanese microchip company was called t m t TMSC, I think, SC.

No. TSMC, microchip. TSMC, the Taiwanese, the biggest manufacturer of microchips. Like, letting them, like, buy Intel. The micro microchip industry manufacturing.

Uh-huh. So Intel's an American company. Mhmm. Mister America First. You're going to cripple all the talk about we wanna be microchip self sufficient by what?

Giving American microchip manufacturing to Taiwan? Okay. Because he's a national or or CGFC. Nothing belongs to America anymore, you know. So if you look at what he's actually doing, all he's actually doing is isolating America, imposing an absolutely scorched earth neoliberal reform of the federal government, federal budget, via Elon Musk, who is literally just a tech billionaire who is there to take as much money for himself as he can and make sure that none of his competitors get any money.

It it's so it's so obvious if you look at what's what he's actually doing. But you're so busy thinking about the crazy things that he says and you're taking it seriously. Like there's any indication at all that he has power, like farther than he can throw a rock. You know? What what what honestly, power does he does he have outside of America at this point?

What actual power does he have? He's he's he's he's throwing Europe under the bus. He's saying Ukraine is your problem, you idiots. You you you you went along with the Ukraine war. Look what you did to yourselves.

You had the sanctions against Russia. Sucker. You fell for it. And now and now they're saying, what's his name? Vance had a talk in Munich, security conference, saying Europe's biggest enemy isn't China, Europe's biggest enemy isn't Russia, Europe's biggest enemy is themselves.

And not only is that obviously misleading because your biggest enemy is America, but what he's saying is it's about to be. Your biggest enemy is about to be yourselves because of what I've always been saying. You're gonna be a conflict zone. Yeah. That's what we have planned.

That's why Trump is talking about you have to take on responsibility for your own security. Mhmm. And that's why they're talking about leaving NATO or else Ukraine definitely cannot be a part of NATO because we're gonna give a big chunk of that to Russia and anyways, basically Russia's anyway. And if Russia wants to do what they wanna do, we're not gonna be involved.

Yeah.

And now you go you all can fight each other and if because if if if a NATO country fights another NATO country, then America is supposed to intervene.

Right. Right.

You know, or if any NATO country gets attacked, then America is supposed to intervene. Well, what are you supposed to do if America attacks it? What are you supposed to do? If a NATO country attacks a NATO country, who's supposed to intervene to stop that? You know?

What are all of the NATO countries gonna attack America if America attacks Greenland, for example? If America attacks Greenland, are all of the NATO countries gonna get together and attack America?

They don't

have They can't even defend themselves.

Yeah.

You know? So everything that I've talked about for the last three years is happening right before your eyes. The the the the isolation of America, the throwing of Europe under the bus, the rise of Bricks, the rise of China, the withdrawal Delinking. The delinking Yeah. And the decline and the decrease and the retreat of American interference in the Middle East.

And the the the fact that America has very, very, very little say Mhmm. In how that situation is gonna be resolved. And that it's and and look, even even Trump is gonna meet with Putin about Ukraine Mhmm. And about The Middle East in Saudi Arabia. Do you know?

How how much clearer can it be to anyone? I don't know why anyone talks about this. About about this expulsion thing. Zero people take it seriously.

Mhmm.

And you're you're actually keeping it. No one no one talks about it like it's serious.

Yeah.

No world leader talks about it like it's serious at all. Exactly. And the people in the region don't talk about it like it's serious. What does that tell you? Use your mind.

So I mean don't just like I I keep saying, don't pounce on every headline, don't jump to react to everything. And anyone who's trying to alarm you and make you alarmed about something, your response should always be to be calm. Yeah. That's always the right response. Always be calm and and be cool.

Be collected. And think it through. Stop and reflect. And think does any of this make any sense at all? And also try to try to monitor yourself when you're seeing something with your own eyes.

When you're watching, for example, that press conference with, Khambatala and Trump

Uh-huh.

Be realistic. K. I had I had someone I had someone message me on Twitter. How can he just take control or how can he just own the land? It's not even for sale.

That's a rhetorical question. That's not a serious question that you ask someone because you don't know the answer. That's a rhetorical question. The answer is paraphrasing naughty by nature. How will he do it?

How will he make it? He won't, that's how. He won't. The answer is obvious, but but you you have some kind of weird awe Uh-huh. That you think somehow Trump is king of the world.

It's like it's we talked about it before. It's this this weird power of confidence Mhmm. Of overconfidence that especially for Americans. Americans are convinced by it. I don't know about people are obviously people around the world are not convinced by just braggadocious, bodacious confidence.

Mhmm.

But it works in America. It can get you through. It can get you by. It can be convincing. It can be persuasive.

You can be a big con man as long as you're very confident. If you tell people with absolute certainty and conviction, I can eat the moon, people will actually believe maybe this guy can eat the moon. I wanna be there. I wanna watch. And then they'll be shocked when you can't.

Yeah. And everyone else thinks that both of you are idiots.

Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. The one watching in is thinking Yeah. You know.

I'm not sure.

Yeah. How how how are you watching this? You went you you actually paid for pay per view to watch a guy eat the moon because you thought it was gonna happen, or you had some question about whether it might happen or not happen. What are you talking about? The expulsion of of Gazans?

By who? To where? For the rebuilding of Gaza? By the Arabs who are gonna pay for all of that for the sake of the Israelis? What are you talking about?

Is it going to be made of Legos? Is it gonna be made of cheese? Why don't we just continue with the fantasy? Is everyone gonna be riding around on Pegasus and unicorns? Why is it's it's it's it's also this there's an addiction to being alarmed.

Yeah.

There's an addiction people have. It's like it's like I've talked about before how politics has become an entertainment genre. Mhmm. Just like in genres of entertainment, you've got horror, you've got comedy, you've got thriller, you've got suspense, whatever.

Yes.

So There's there's there's there's a particular genre in the political entertainment genre of of continuous alarm.

Yeah. And self defeatism and

Yeah. Self defeat. Yeah. Despair, despondence. Masochism.

Masochism. Exactly. Exactly. It makes you feel alive to be in panic or something. I don't know.

But get over it or stay quiet. Yeah. Do us all a favor and stay quiet. Stay out of politics. Just be silent because you're not helping at all, you know.

Thank you and good night.