Jay Weber Show transcript `5-15-25
I said earlier: I think I’m someone who has a ‘very good bead’ on Donald Trump by now...and what he’s really trying to do...when he trots out some of his silly statements or questionable ideas...but when it comes to this ‘free plane’....
I have no ‘good bead’ on why he’s so ‘dug in’.
This idea of getting a free plane from Qatar- a country that funds and protects terrorists and until recently- we’ve never considered a foreign ally or friendly nation- just looks bad.
To the average American, it looks like a bribe from a country that doesn’t deserve to be a friendly nation.
And former house speaker Kevin McCarthy might have the answer: McCarthy thinks this is about trump embarrassing Boeing into finally delivering on a commitment they made to him in term one: two new planes to act as Air Force One. Many years later-they still aren’t done.
That sounds logical to me. Sure. Could be.
Especially when president trump was-in Qatar- yesterday and signed a deal that greatly benefits Boeing...
The deal calls for 1.2-trillion dollars in US investment...including a 96-billion-dollar deal for Boeing.
You got to hand it to Trump: the guy just keeps delivering major investment deals for the country that no other president has- or has even dreamt of doing.
This is trump-the visionary business guy- simply thinking in terms that no other modern-day president his.
Trump- to his credit- sees the possibility of a more peaceful middle east thru economic development and shared business agreements. And he’s not wrong. His Abraham Accords have worked out brilliantly...and if he can get Saudi Arabia and a few more mid-east countries to agree to join ties with Israel economically- it’s going to be a major game-changer for human history.
And still. So far. He’s getting no credit.
But this must be at least 6 or 7-trillion dollars’ worth of new investment and hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing jobs promised for America- in just the first four months he’s been back in office.
And i can already hear the democrats: yeah, but how many of them will pan out?
The answer is: if even half of them do it’s going to be a huge boon for this country. I know you want to try to poop on and degrade every bit of ‘good news’ related to Trump or republicans.... but even a hall. Or a quarter...of these newly promised investments represent a huge win for the country and something that neither Biden nor Obama -nor bush- even though to accomplish. Let’s be honest, here.
And yes- trump is being friendly with people who don’t seem to deserve his friendship and trust-and don’t be naive enough to think that they have it yet-
But again-it’s about the ‘approach’: if Trump and his team can draw the leaders of Qatar and Syria ‘closer’ to us in the west.... he and future US presidents will have more power and influence over them- because- now? We have none.
Trump’s killing them with kindness to make break-through here.
Some might remember how-in his first term-he went to North Korea and met the evil butterball- after speaking in terms that upset many Americans and Koreans: how dare you be friendly to this monster?
But there was trump.... testing the waters...trying to see if there was a way to deal with this mad idiot...through flattery or business development.
Remember?
Trump was saying...I was telling him...Kim...Kimster...you’ve got some great beaches here. I could develop those for you...and you could have a great travel economy...
Well, that sounds idiotic to anyone who doesn’t know what trump was doing...and he knew he’d take blowback for it...but did it anyway.
And no, the evil butterball can’t be reasoned with, and so.... extending that olive branch failed. But that doesn’t mean he won’t try it with others. As he is now-in the middle east.
And i know it’s upsetting to the Israelis and all sorts of other people who have been generational enemies of these countries...but. We’ve been trying it ‘the other way’ for 50 years now...with the same bad results.
So... let’s be open to having Trump try it ‘his way’...for now. We can always go back to hating them and isolating them if we need to.
Both the Saudis and the Qataris seemed to love...looovveee Donald Trump. He owns businesses in their countries and is comfortable in their palaces.... etc.
Okay. That’s not a bad thing. Let’s use it and try a different approach and see where it goes.
Let’s see where it goes. And I say this as someone who has watched every other president’s approach- to this region- dating back to Jimmy Carter.
I was in favor of fighting the terrorist ‘over there’ in both bush eras. I was never in favor of the ‘nation building’ that bush and his alleged ‘neo-cons’ tried. I guess I was a ‘neo con’, too, of that era. But I was doing shows at the time saying-we don’t need to nation-build...just win the war and get out.
But- Bush’s theory was-if we can leave fledgling democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan- the people of those countries won’t ever want to go back to theocracies or dictatorships...
I understood the attempt- and said at the time--it’s a long shot-but let’s see if it works.
And at least in Iraq-it was- working. Members of both parties want to forget this now-but bush’s attempt to leave a stable and more democratic Iraq-was-working. They had held elections. Iraqi citizens were overjoyed to vote and show us their purple fingers.
American and western countries were pouring into Iraq to help them rebuild and get in on the ‘ground floor’ of a new free market....
And then?
Genuinely and honest to God: then Barrack Obama and Nancy Pelosi took over and intentionally tanked. Bush’s efforts in Iraq.
They got in in 2008 and -by God- they were not going to let George Bush get the win when it came to Iraq. Not after trashing and naysaying the war for years. Nope.
And so-it was the next u-s regime that ensured that the nation-building would fail. And they never get blamed for that.
Instead, everyone on both sides just dumps on Bush’s effort.
photo credit: Getty Images
audio version of the segment here > Too bad the mainstream media isn't reporting the good news