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.'

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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.

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"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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