Trump earns unlikely praise from House Democrat: 'I got to give him some kudos there'



President Donald Trump is no stranger to criticism from the left, but even Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut admits that his foreign policy is praiseworthy.

Trump has spent the last few days meeting with foreign dignitaries in the Middle East, including President Ahmed al-Sharaa of Syria, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Trump even announced he would be lifting sanctions on Syria, inching closer and closer to a peace deal.

'Himes admits that he is optimistic about Trump's handling of the Middle East this week.'

RELATED: Trump pledges to lift 'brutal and crippling' sanctions on Syria, pushes for Middle East peace talks

  Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Trump's dovish approach to foreign policy has been praised by some political allies in the Republican Party, but Himes chimed in with a rare message of support from across the aisle.

"I'm not in the habit of praising Donald Trump," Himes said in an interview Thursday. "But I got to tell you ... I think the president has, in this last week or so, played the Middle East pretty darn well."

Himes said he went into the week concerned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "hell-bent" on going to war with Iran. He also expressed skepticism about Trump's negotiations with the new Syrian leadership. But so far, Himes admits that he is optimistic about Trump's handling of the Middle East this week.

RELATED: Vance tells Glenn Beck Congress needs to 'get serious' about codifying DOGE cuts

  Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

"My guess is that the prime minister of Israel is cooling his heels a little bit on planning for Iran," Himes said. "My guess is that he's probably thinking through a better situation than he otherwise might want for Gaza, and look, it appears we're going to give al-Sharaa a chance in Syria. That's pretty good stuff."

"Again, not in the habit of praising this president, but I got to give him some kudos there," Himes added.

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MSNBC host suggests US needs foreign election monitors, claims GOP is trying 'to destroy our democracy'



MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace suggested Monday that foreign election monitors should oversee American elections, declaring the Republican Party is trying "to destroy our democracy."

But her guest, Democratic Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), immediately shot down her proposal.

Wait, what did she say?

In countries where questions of legitimacy hang over elections, election monitors, often sent by legitimate democracies and non-governmental organizations, conduct oversight and record questionable practices.

According to Wallace, the U.S. needs such monitors to provide oversight of our elections.

"We're so focused on our own pretty splendid efforts to destroy our democracy from the Republican Party in this country that we forget there are foreign actors that represent a grave threat as well," Wallace said on her MSNBC show.

"The threats to our elections in what, 2.5 weeks, are so pervasive, and they’re so dire, and they include violence — I mean, do you think it’s time to ask for friends and allies to come over and help us monitor our elections?" she went on to ask Himes. "We used to do that in other burgeoning and threatened democracies."

 
\u201c"At some point the U.S. is going to need to collectively decide that not only are we going to oppose Russians and Chinese and North Koreans and Iranians messing around with our elections, we're not gonna allow the Republican Party to do it either" - @jahimes w/ @NicolleDWallace\u201d
— Deadline White House (@Deadline White House) 1666649422 
 

Himes, though he agreed with Wallace's concerns, promptly explained he does not share her solution.

"No, Nicolle, I’m not there yet, and I know why you’re asking what you’re asking and you’re not wrong," Himes responded.

"I mean, the kind of intimidation that is threatened around polling places. You’ve seen the pictures of the guys with assault weapons near boxes — that stuff is intimidating," he added without evidence. "That used to be the province, I hate to use the term, third-world countries that didn’t care about democracy.

"But no, look, this is something for us to work out ourselves," Himes said.

Despite heavy-handed rhetoric from Democrats and media members that American democracy is under threat, the democratic processes that guide America through elections have not failed — not even once.

  Rep. Himes: The U.S. Has To Decide We Won’t Allow The GOP To Mess With Election www.youtube.com 

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