Despite publicly distancing himself from the two-state solution, presidential candidate Donald Trump has expressed a different viewpoint in private conversations. According to his campaign managers in Michigan, led by Trump's envoy to the Arab-American community, American-Lebanese businessman Masad Boules (whose son is married to Trump's youngest daughter, Tiffany), Trump believes that the only path to peace in the Middle East is through the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In an interview with The New Yorker, these campaign managers revealed that Trump privately conveyed his belief that a Palestinian state is essential for achieving peace in the Middle East. They also addressed Trump's previous controversial comments that President Joe Biden and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer "have become Palestinians," clarifying that Trump later explained to Boules he actually meant "Hamas supporters" and not Palestinians. To court the Arab community, Trump even sent Bilal Muhammad, an American-Palestinian MMA fighter and recent UFC champion, to Michigan to rally votes.
Notably,in April, Trump distanced himself from supporting the two-state solution in an interview with Time magazine, expressing doubts about its feasibility. This made him the first presidential candidate in the 21st century to withdraw support for a Palestinian state, earning immediate praise from figures like Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who lauded Trump for his courage and integrity.
Trump's Deal of the Century, formulated during his presidency, initially included a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. However, in the same Time interview, Trump said: "If Israel moves forward toward a two-state solution, the Palestinians do not want two states. They want everything. And if Israel does not move forward, suddenly they talk about a two-state solution. The two-state solution seemed like the idea that people loved the most, the policy or idea that people loved the most. There was a time when I thought the two-state solution could work."
Trump continued, "Now I think the two-state solution is going to be very, very difficult, and I am not sure it can work anymore. It will be much harder to achieve it. I also think there are fewer people who like the idea. There were many people who liked the idea four years ago. Maybe there is no other idea. There are people who say that this situation is one of the hardest to solve."