The Dictatorship
Trump diplomacy 2.0: A billionaire developer and a monarchy scramble longtime U.S. alliances
Nearly a year into his second term, President Donald Trump has effectively sidelined scores of diplomats and experts at the State Department and National Security Council and supplanted them with Steve Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer who uses a private jet for diplomatic travelhas negotiated on a yacht and often works closely with the royal family of Qatar, a Persian Gulf nation smaller than Connecticut.
That reality has sent longtime U.S. allies scrambling to adjust to a new Trump 2.0 American diplomacy — a dramatic shift that extends far beyond upending the traditional alliances with Western European nations that guided the U.S. since World War II. Diplomats from around the world say it’s forcing an overhaul of their own diplomacy and foreign policies to accommodate an American president who appears to prefer working with monarchs and autocrats over leaders of democracies.
Trump administration officials say the narrow, streamlined approach is intentional, generating faster results with fewer people. Longtime diplomats say it’s a path fraught with risks — one that generates celebrated announcements but may inhibit longer-lasting outcomes.
“Compressed negotiations and centralized decisionmaking tend to sideline the broader coalition work required for a durable peace,” said David Cattler, a former senior NATO and Pentagon official. “When negotiations move faster than allied political alignment, particularly in Europe, the result is often a fragile agreement that struggles to hold over time.”
Trump administration officials dismissed the criticism and questioned the effectiveness of traditional approaches.
“It’s ironic that foreign diplomats complain more about President Trump’s efforts to end wars than Joe Biden’s inability to prevent them,” State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement. “Wars broke out under the so-called ‘experts,’ and wars are ending now under President Trump.”
An emirate as a U.S. conduit
The Trump administration’s relationship with Qatar — a nation roughly the size of Connecticut by landmass, with an annual GDP similar to Kansas’s — perhaps best exemplifies the new American diplomatic order. The emirate has proudly taken a leading role in U.S. negotiations with Russia and Ukraine and the drafting of peace agreements between Israel and Hamas, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, and Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to a Middle Eastern diplomat who spoke with MS NOW on the condition of anonymity to more freely provide insight into the growing depths of the White House’s reliance on Qatar.
“Qatar has proven to be the closest strategic ally to the U.S,” the diplomat said.
Qatari officials have essentially turned into Witkoff’s negotiating proxy. They helped prepare an initial 28-point framework proposal with the U.S. to end Russia’s war in Ukraine in early December. That’s a draft critics derided as a Russian “wish list” for requiring Ukraine, for example, to cede land not yet taken by Russian forces.
It’s a diplomatic role once helmed by State Department officials through carefully orchestrated interactions, but now reflects the president’s desire to rely on Middle East monarchies as more flexible, faster conduits.
“We can do stuff you guys cannot,” said the aforementioned Middle East diplomat. “We can speak to people who are designated as terrorists, but you can’t. We can allocate budget and resources for negotiation.”
“We can do stuff you guys cannot,” said the Middle East diplomat. “We can speak to people who are designated as terrorists, but you can’t.”
“You can’t, cause you have to seek budgetary approval and seek congressional approval,” the diplomat added.
Democratic members of Congress have criticized the approach as overly secretive and argue that the public deserves a clear sense of the Trump administration’s activities overseas. They have questioned business deals that the Trump and Witkoff families have struck with Qatarthe United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia while conducting diplomacy with them.
This fall, Qatari officials coordinated with the intelligence chiefs of both Egypt and Turkey to push forward direct talks with Hamas. They continue to do so. Over the summer, the Qataris hosted Witkoff on a yacht in the Riviera to engage with individuals party to the Israel-Hamas talks — an atypical venue for high-stakes talks but one which, the diplomat contended, “led to a historic deal that had never been done before.”
U.S. allies in the Middle East say the developments show the failure of traditional diplomatic approaches in recent years.
“President Trump’s methods have had concrete achievements,” a foreign official in the region told MS NOW. “Europe may not have the same risk tolerance or willingness to break the mold that U.S. allies in the Middle East have.”
The Trump administration brushed off concerns about Doha’s outsized influence on U.S. foreign policy, calling the Qataris “a great partner.”
“It’s a good thing that people who are responsible for sustained peace in the Middle East are engaging with critical partners in the region, and that’s how it should be done,” a White House official said.
Frustration over Ukraine
Multiple senior officials in Europe said in recent interviews in London and Brussels that peace talks for Ukraine have been complicated by the small size and top-down nature of Trump’s diplomatic team, which they said sidelines traditional U.S. government experts in diplomacy and national security.
European officials expressed bafflement at Witkoff’s continued prominent role in the Ukraine talks, citing his failure to sometimes bring his own translator to meetings or take detailed notes, and his lack of diplomatic experience. They expressed confidence in Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and in Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
One European diplomat said officials on the continent are especially alarmed by Trump administration officials at times openly embracing Russia’s view of the war in Ukraine.
“You are in a situation where you are sitting with high American officials, and the speaking points you get are from Russia,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity with MS NOW in order to convey their frustrations candidly.
European diplomats said they believe only two members of Trump’s inner circle — Witkoff and Kushner — can accurately convey Trump’s thinking and, most importantly to them, potentially influence it.
A White House official praised that approach. “This is not a top-down foreign policy apparatus,” the official told MS NOW. “It’s a feature, not a bug, that all foreign policy actions come from the President of the United States, who was elected, among other reasons, on the basis of his America First foreign policy agenda.”
Trump is “leaning on people who understand his thinking, who share his untraditional background, and the results at this point have been successful,” the official added.
A White House official said that after each meeting, Witkoff “briefs necessary national security officials” as well as the president, receives briefings from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence prior to diplomatic trips, and brings note-takers and translators into almost every meeting.
Rubio and Vice President JD Vance also provided feedback to Witkoff on the revised 20-point Ukraine peace plan prior to sharing it with Trump, the official said.
During a press conference on Friday, Rubio pushed back on the idea that Trump’s reliance on special envoys has sidelined State Department officials and diminished his own power as America’s top diplomat. He praised Witkoff, whom he described as “a phenomenal person, very smart, very talented.”
“Steve doesn’t do anything independently; he relies on the interagency” process, Rubio said, adding Witkoff is staffed by State employees “especially as we get to the technical parts of these agreements.”
“The synergy there is very tight across the board,” he said.
Talks with Iran
Trump’s reliance on Witkoff carries risks, critics say. A Persian Gulf diplomat not from Iran accused Witkoff of presenting a “bogus misrepresentation of himself as a ‘man of peace’” in negotiations last summer before Israel and the U.S. carried out airstrikes on Iran.
“Mr. Witkoff conducted himself in a manner not befitting the office he represented,” said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A second person who has knowledge of the talks and is not from Iran said Iranian officials now believe they were misled by the U.S. Iranians say the talks with Witkoff were a ruse designed to keep Iran from expecting and preparing for the strikes.
“It’s seen by the Iranians as an insult,” said the person with direct knowledge of the talks.
Iranian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House defended Witkoff and denied the allegations.
“The special envoy is a good-faith actor in everything he does,” a White House official told MS NOW, adding Witkoff was actively working towards a deal and was “transparent with everyone.”
Witkoff’s continued role
The Middle Eastern diplomat who spoke with MS NOW predicted Trump and Witkoff will continue to rely heavily on America’s partners in the Middle East, saying Witkoff “respects us” and “trusts us.”
“We have proven we can deliver stuff to him,” the diplomat said.
The diplomat acknowledged Witkoff’s lack of traditional foreign policy experience, but said his close relationship with Trump gave him something invaluable: power.
“He doesn’t have the experience in diplomacy. He has zero. But he’s an excellent negotiator,” said the Middle Eastern diplomat. “Witkoff is powerful, and he can achieve these agreements.”
David Rohde
David Rohde is the senior national security reporter for MS NOW. Previously he was the senior executive editor for national security and law for NBC News.
Vaughn Hillyard is a senior White House reporter for MS NOW.
Julia Jester covers politics for MS NOW and is based in Washington, D.C.
Ian Sherwood is the director of international newsgathering for MS NOW, a former executive editor for NBC News and a former deputy Washington bureau chief for the BBC.
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination, a spokesperson said late Wednesday, as two retiring Republicans on the panel dug in over President Donald Trump’s personal “anti-weaponization” deal with the government he runs.
Sen. Chuck Grassley’s decision to delay the committee vote that had been set for Thursday marks a setback for one of Trump’s highest-profile Cabinet nominees, at the hands of Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a pair of Republicans set to leave the chamber next year.
“Chairman Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee, not failure. Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement,” the committee spokesperson said.
Blanche’s nomination to permanently head the Department of Justice needs the support of either Cornyn or Tillis to make it out of the committee to a vote by the full Senate, assuming all Democrats remain opposed.
“Why don’t you call over the Department of Justice and tell them they have one hour and 50 minutes to get me what I asked for,” Cornyn told reporters Wednesday afternoon amid the hardening standoff over his demand that Blanche and the DOJ put in writing a commitment never to pursue the president’s prized “anti-weaponization” fund, and to clarify the terms of Trump’s personal deal with the Internal Revenue Service.
Tillis told MS NOW that the conversations were complicated by the need for the Justice Department to get “several parties” to agree on the language of the statement Cornyn and Tillis are seeking.
“What I’ve advised the chair, and I would assume Senator Cornyn said something similar, is that we’re not prepared to vote yes yet,” he added.
“The Department has been in regular communication with Committee members for weeks, and we look forward to continuing to work productively with Senators to address any concerns,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in response to the decision to postpone the committee vote.
Cornyn was set to meet with Blanche on Wednesday morning, but the meeting was called off after Blanche failed to meet the senator’s demand for written proposals to modify the controversial settlement agreement he brokered between Trump and the IRS. The Republican senator is set to leave Congress when his term ends in January after a bruising May primary loss to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Trump’s chosen candidate.
“Maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him,” Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office. “I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem. I heard (Blanche) is going through quite nicely.”
Cornyn made clear to Blanche during his confirmation hearing that he will not get his support until he agrees to reopen and modify the settlement. Due to the committee’s narrow Republican majority, one GOP “no” vote is enough to sink Blanche’s nomination.
The senator has asked Blanche to provide proof that the proposed nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund established as part of the deal between Trump and the IRS is formally dead, and he has also demanded Blanche narrow the tax audit immunity provisions the settlement afforded to Trump and his family.
Blanche has publicly stated that his department has dropped the fund, but he and the DOJ have dodged requests from Cornyn and a federal judge to put that in writing.
After announcing his meeting with Blanche would not take place Wednesday morning, Cornyn told reporters that changes from Blanche “in a modified release form” would be acceptable, but that “for some reason … they simply refuse to do it,” referring to the DOJ.
Shortly after the meeting was called off, a Justice Department official told MS NOW that the department “provided a written proposal to Senator Cornyn’s staff yesterday following ongoing discussion with both the Committee and the Senator’s office.”
Cornyn said that proposal was “not responsive” to his demands because it did not address the tax audit immunity provisions in the settlement, one of his key demands.
In May, Blanche signed an addendum as part of the deal that granted Trump, his family and his businesses immunity from pending IRS tax audits. That agreement, which has been decried by former IRS officials and legal experts as unlawful self-dealing, is being contested in federal court.
Cornyn noted that Blanche testified under oath that he could meet the request during his confirmation hearing.
“Maybe they think I’m just going to give up or you know, go along, but they’re mistaken,” Cornyn said when asked why he thinks the DOJ could be slow-walking his request.
Kevin Frey contributed to this report.
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived this week for his tour of Washington, he may have had a mission in mind.
Netanyahu needed to overcome his newly diminished stature and waning influence over his once close friend President Donald Trump as both leaders grapple with the unpopularity of a war they started together and is escaping their control.
His meeting at the White House with Trump on Tuesday, which was closed to the press, was the first face-to-face encounter between the two allies since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack against Iran on Feb. 28.
Trump gave him a muted welcome and afterwards simply described the meeting as “very good.” “Obviously, many important subjects were discussed,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Rather than an intimate one-on-one setting, the Oval Office was full of top U.S. officials — Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
But Netanyahu continued the full court press on the Trump administration.
Over the course of two days, in addition to seeing Trump and attending Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral at the Capitol, Netanyahu also met separately with Vance, Hegseth, and Rubio, White House and Israeli officials confirmed to MS NOW.
The Israeli prime minister’s slate of meetings with key U.S. national security officials comes at a pivotal moment in the Iran conflict as tensions escalate in the region and Americans increasingly sour on the war. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows 60% of American voters opposing U.S. military action against Iran and 74% against sending U.S. ground troops into Iran.
Not only does Trump face pressure as Republicans face an uphill battle to retain congressional control in this fall’s midterms, Netanyahu’s fate as prime minister is at stake in Israel’s upcoming September elections – and he can’t afford to lose Trump’s favor.
The talks largely focused on what to do next as Iran continues to menace shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and retaliate against American bases in the region and launch attacks on Gulf allies.
According to a senior Israeli official who was granted anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu did not come to a final decision after discussing three paths forward: get a “good deal” focused on Iran’s nuclear program and enriched material, have no deal and instead continue the blockade and economic pressure, or take escalated military action.
But Netanyahu did not tell Trump what he should do – nor did he express a preference.
The senior Israeli official noted Netanyahu has not ruled out diplomacy – as long as it is coupled with “very strong pressures,” calling the push to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program “a contest of will and a contest of force.”
“There are ways of squeezing them and squeezing them and squeezing them and negotiating at the same time,” the official said.
Netanyahu did not present President Trump with new intelligence regarding the underground Iranian nuclear facility Pickaxe Mountain, per the senior Israeli official, noting the U.S. and Israel already are constantly sharing intelligence – and know where Iran’s highly enriched material is. “We don’t think it’s moved, and I think we have a pretty good grasp on that,” the official said.
During their meeting on Tuesday, Trump and Netanyahu discussed ways Israel and the U.S. can work together to stop Iran’s nuclear program and get the Strait of Hormuz open to maritime trade, the senior Israeli official said.
The two leaders also discussed a third goal: to continue to undermine the Iranian regime and “possibly create future conditions for a change in that area.” U.S. officials have backed away from pursuing paths that would overthrow the current leadership, but Netanyahu still believes that could happen.
“The chasm that has been created between the people and the regime is not about to be closed,” the senior Israeli official said of Netanyahu’s thinking.
Netanyahu advised Trump in February that Israeli intelligence indicated launching strikes against Iran would lead to the toppling of the Islamic Republic’s regime – and five months later, the slain ayatollah’s son retains power with a close circle of hardliners, calling into question the accuracy of Israel’s intelligence apparatus.
But the senior Israeli official said at the time, Netanyahu did not promise the Iranian people would take fate into their own hands following a coordinated attack. Rather, he chose his words carefully and said that an attack could create conditions to “advance the probability or the possibility that that would happen.”
The conditions needed for the Iranian regime to fall, “did not materialize,” the official told MS NOW, adding, “not for lack of insight, but for either operational failure or decisions that were made.”
Despite Netanyahu insisting Israel and the U.S. are on the same page, differences still remain: the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and the Saudi nuclear arrangement did not come up during Wednesday’s White House meeting, according to a second Israeli official granted anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.
Meanwhile, the conflict continues to spread, with an Iranian drone attacking a U.S. gas storage tanker off the coast of Egypt on Wednesday.
Trump indicated he would not let Iran’s latest action slide, telling reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. would retaliate against Iran even as he leaves room for diplomatic talks to resume.
“It’s our turn, and we’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point,” Trump said. “But we’re going to hit them very hard.”
As for what it would take for Israel to join the U.S. strikes, the senior Israeli official said that if Israel is attacked by Iran, “We will respond very, very forcefully and very quickly. And I think Iran would make a great mistake.”
Julia Jester covers politics for MS NOW and is based in Washington, D.C.
International rage over FIFA’s close ties to President Donald Trump has reached a fever pitch after soccer’s governing body announced a plan to sell a significant stake to an investor group led by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law.
The president and his family have all but turned the White House into their personal piggy bank. And FIFA — which has its own sordid history of corruption — seems to have made itself a party to Trump’s self-enrichment under Gianni Infantino’s leadership, such as by paying for space inside Trump Tower in New York. (The organization has defended the office rental as a World Cup outpost.)
Soccer is seen by many as a unifying game. But Trump’s incorporation of FIFA into his political dynasty is threatening that idea.
FIFA has announced plans to sell a large minority stake in a new company that will run its main events, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, as part of a plan to triple the amount of development money it dishes out to its 211 member associations.
Under the proposals — which are subject to approval by a majority of those national associations and FIFA’s 37-member council — a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE) will take over all commercial operations, while FIFA remains the game’s global governing body and retains a majority stake in FFE.
A press release from FIFA confirmed the plans and said Thrive Eternal, which was launched by Joshua Kushner, is expected to lead the investment group that would control FIFA Forward Enterprise. FIFA did not clarify why Thrive Eternal was selected, and Kushner was already dabbling in sports.
But Trump basically has already given son-in-law Jared Kushner carte blanche to dictate U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East while simultaneously hatching business plans in the region. (Jared Kushner has denied any conflicts of interest.)
Joshua Kushner reportedly has been a major donor to Democrats. But, predictably, the idea of another Kushner becoming financially entwined with the World Cup — the world’s most popular sporting event — and basically being dropped into a position of global significance isn’t going over well. Several other soccer governing bodies have expressed concerns, including Europe’s UEFA.
“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,” UEFA said in a statement about The Athletic’s report, adding: “The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee also rebuked the plan, writing on X: “Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough — now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a multibillion-dollar deal with Jared Kushner’s brother to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors.”
FIFA, Donald Trump’s favorite corrupt racketeering enterprise in world sports, is now going directly into business with the Trump family!
Apparently the fake Peace Prize and giant lease with Trump Tower weren’t enough—now Infantino performs a kickback hat trick by pursuing a… https://t.co/knSZibuMea
— House Judiciary Dems (@HouseJudiciary) July 28, 2026
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., has already launched an investigation into the FIFA leader’s relationship with the Trump administration, while dozens of European lawmakers — citing concerns about “potential breaches of political neutrality” — have called for the FIFA Ethics Committee to investigate Infantino. This new proposal seems unlikely to assuage those concerns.
But what it does seem likely to do is fuel global anger toward the U.S. — the kind that has been growing since Trump retook office.
And when you consider that, it’s truly remarkable how the same MAGA movement whose members whined for years about politics mixing with sports is now in lockstep with a president who seems dead-set on casting his shadow over every sports event he can.
This post on X basically sums up the foul stench around FIFA’s latest proposal.
Sepp Blatter was Infantino’s predecessor as FIFA president and oversaw the organization amid some of its many scandals. When heof all people, is warning about how Trump and Infantino’s relationship is “deeply damaging” soccer, it’s a sign of how far FIFA has descended into the gutter.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.
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