Let it never be said that the president is a cheap date.
On the heels of reports that Donald Trump—sorry, the “United States Air Force”—will be gifted a new presidential airplane from the Qataris, American-born Edan Alexander was released from his captivity in a Hamas dungeon funded and enabled by Qatar. All of this coincides with Trump’s visit this week to the Gulf, the goal of which is “to return home with $1 trillion worth of deals and investment pledges,” according to Axios.
Doha has expanded its portfolio far beyond European soccer teams.
Qatar is expected to ink deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. investments while also buying military hardware totaling $2 billion. The Saudis are joining the party, too: In Trump’s own words, he told the Saudis: “I will go [to Riyadh] if you pay $1 trillion to American companies over four years.” And voila, off he goes.
Let’s not lose sight of the excellent news about Edan Alexander. He deserves his freedom and his parents deserve to have their son home, and his return is something to celebrate.
But Hamas did not publicly parade Alexander before jeering crowds in Gaza, as it has done with other hostages, because Qatar has asked for the privilege of hosting that humiliation instead. “Edan Alexander’s family told [Israel’s Channel 12] that the plan is for Edan to fly to Qatar and meet with Trump and the Emir of Qatar on Wednesday or Thursday,” reported Amit Segal. The family later clarified that such a trip would depend on Alexander’s condition, and that he would ultimately make the choice.
The backlash to the Qatar trip was swift. It was not directed at the family, of course, but at Trump, who reportedly wants it. That means the Qataris requested it. That way they can try to humiliate an Israeli hostage and the president of the United States in one fell swoop.
It’s important to remember here the genesis of Qatar’s financial relationship with Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy and main hostage negotiator. In 2018, Qatar essentially bailed Witkoff out of a real-estate deal that was quickly going sour. Witkoff and a partner were seeking to convert Manhattan’s Park Lane hotel into condos, but the business partner found himself in legal hot water and Witkoff needed a replacement investor or a way to offload the property. Qatar gave him $623 million to take the problem off his hands.
It’s either a real-estate deal or a bailout, depending on how you’d like to spin it. But it was reportedly part of what attracted Trump to hiring Witkoff as a senior adviser, though the two go back further.
So genuflecting to the Qataris has been good for Witkoff’s career. His son, Alex, visited a Qatari government real-estate forum on the eve of the 2024 election. Alex is CEO of the family real-estate company and was appointed by Trump to the board of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Eric Trump, the president’s son, was also recently in Qatar—this time to finalize a Trump Organization deal to build a golf course and villa complex there.
Once upon a time Trump had not-so-nice things to say about his new friends the Qataris. They have, he correctly noted in 2017, “historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.” This was during Trump’s first term as president, and he backed a plan by regional Gulf allies to impose a blockade on Qatar. “I decided, along with secretary of state Rex Tillerson, our great generals and military people, the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding, they have to end that funding and its extremist ideology.”
A mere ten months later, however, the Qatari emir was in the Oval Office with the president for a friendly chat and some smiley photos. “You’ve now become a very big advocate” of stopping terrorism financing, Trump told the emir, “and we appreciate that.”
Of course, Edan Alexander’s case offers a reality check. Qatar’s support for Hamas has been crucial to the terror group’s survival. Israeli (and American) officials were under the impression that Qatari cash to Hamas would at least have the effect of keeping a lid on Hamas’s terror activity. But that was a ruse, and Hamas used its cash and clout to plan and carry out Oct. 7.
It was at that moment that Qatar had an obligation to intervene and either get the hostages home or cut Hamas loose. Instead, if floundered and dragged its feet.
Edan Alexander is free. But as the scheme to drag him to Qatar for a photo op with the emir and Trump shows, he isn’t yet free of Qatar’s malign influence. And neither, apparently, is the United States.
