Addison McDowell on Trump’s Middle East Breakthrough and America’s Role in Peace
In the closing minutes of the latest Breaking Battlegrounds episode, hosts Sam Stone and Seth Leibsohn turn the conversation with Congressman Addison McDowell from the domestic budget battles to breaking news overseas — the peace agreement reached in the ongoing Israel–Palestinian conflict.
Stone notes that some are even calling for President Donald Trump to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, given his role in brokering the recent deal, and asks McDowell whether he believes the peace can last — and what part the United States should continue to play in supporting it.
Trump’s Middle East Effort and the Question of Lasting Peace
McDowell begins by emphasizing how significant the agreement is, calling it an achievement “many, many tried to do before.”
He credits President Trump and his team — mentioning Senator Marco Rubio and others — for what he describes as a “fantastic job” in securing the deal.
He adds a note of realism, saying he hopes and prays that the peace will last, but stresses that its endurance depends on the United States staying engaged and willing to “come to the table” to assist with future negotiations.
According to McDowell, “the world is a safer place when we’re there.”
“Make Our Warfighters Scary Again”
Pivoting from diplomacy to defense, McDowell argues that maintaining peace abroad also depends on restoring American military strength and deterrence.
He praises what he sees as efforts to strengthen the Department of Defense — referring to work being done by “Pete Hegseth at the Department of War” — and insists that the U.S. should ensure the military is once again feared and respected around the world.
“We’ve got to make our warfighters scary again,” McDowell says, adding that when the U.S. projects strength, it discourages aggression against both America and its allies.
He contrasts this with his criticism of the Biden administration, saying the military under President Biden has been focused on “woke, climate-worshiping” policies that, in his view, made the country appear weaker.
McDowell concludes by expressing gratitude that President Trump is “ending these wars that have been going on for decades,” while stressing the importance of America being strong enough to defend its interests and deter enemies.
A Conversation on Strength, Peace, and America’s Role
In just a few minutes, the discussion captures a wide range of issues: the Trump-brokered peace deal, questions about its durability, and McDowell’s belief that American diplomacy and military readiness are both essential to maintaining global stability.
The congressman leaves listeners with a simple framework:
lead through strength, stay engaged in peace efforts, and make sure America’s military remains the world’s strongest deterrent.
Transcript
Sam Stone: Do we have, I want to shift topics a little bit here while we have about two minutes left here with you, Congressman. Obviously, big news breaking in the last few days regarding the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza. President Trump, you know, some people calling for the Nobel, the actual peace agreement didn’t happen until after they had voted. So hopefully he would win that next year. Do you believe that this piece will be able to stick going forward? And how important is it for the U.S. to continue to lead the role in brokering that piece?
Addison Mcdowell: A great question and I do want to highlight something that are our majority leader Steve Scolese pointed out that they gave Barack Obama uh... a nobel peace rise just for getting elected president that’s uh... and and Donald Trump has just accomplished what many tried to do before and it took an incredible team with sector Rubio and others and they did a fantastic job.
Now I I pray that this peace will last but as long as the United States is willing to come to the table and help with these negotiations. I think we should because the world is a safer place when we’re there. But the really big key here is that we’ve got to do exactly what Pete Hegseth is doing at the Department of War and we’ve got to make our warfighters scary again, because I want the entire world to look at the United States military and say, you know what, we’re not messing with that and we’re not messing with their friends.
Because under Joe Biden, had this woke climate worshiping military apparatus that nobody was afraid of anymore. And that played out. And now one by one, President Trump is ending these wars that have been going on for decades. And I’m grateful for that, but we’ve got to be strong again.
Sam Stone: Joe Biden was literally running ads for our military that made it seem that made them more attractive to attack for our enemies. Like he was putting them up on a pedestal to be knocked off in the worst way possible. This is an important change.
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