Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken attempted to credit his boss, former President Joe Biden, with laying the framework for President Donald Trump’s historic deal in Gaza — the deal that has so far secured the release of all remaining living hostages and will, if followed, end the war between Israel and the terror group Hamas.
Blinken, who was serving as the nation’s top diplomat when Hamas militants breached the Israeli border and slaughtered more than 1,200 men, women, and children on October 7, 2023, was part of the initial efforts to reach a ceasefire and the return of some 250 hostages who were also abducted on that day. And while he did give President Trump nominal credit for getting an agreement across the finish line, he made it clear that he believed Biden deserved praise for taking the first steps in that direction.
“In Gaza today, the guns are largely silent. If all goes as planned, the remaining Israeli hostages will return home. Palestinians will get the relief they desperately need and deserve. Nothing can erase the pain and loss of the past two years. But there is real hope of building on this step to finally end the war,” Blinken began a series of posts on X. “President Trump and his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner deserve our collective thanks for producing this ceasefire and the renewed possibility of lasting peace.”
(2/12) First, what changed to make this breakthrough possible? Hamas is finally and fully isolated. Arab states and Turkey have said “enough.” The misery Hamas provoked and would allow to persist has delegitimized it among most Gazans. And Hamas realized that the cavalry (Iran,…
— Antony Blinken (@ABlinken) October 11, 2025
He then laid out the reasons he believed the deal had finally come to fruition — beginning with the fact that Hamas had been “finally and fully isolated” but failing to acknowledge the Trump administration’s active role in enforcing that isolation. He also noted that Hamas had learned the “cavalry” – meaning Hezbollah, the Houthis, and even Iran — would not come to their aid in Gaza, but again omitted the fact that Trump had put pressure on Iran to ensure exactly that outcome.
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“In the coming days we can expect to see joyful images: of hostages reunited with their loved ones and the people of Gaza getting respite from the war and receiving the help they need,” Blinken continued, flashing back to the Biden administration and the early ceasefire-for-hostages deals. “We’ve seen these images before. Under President Biden’s watch, we secured the release of 135 hostages and, in January 2025 we handed over a ceasefire with Israeli forces pulling back, tens of thousands of aid trucks going into Gaza and a post conflict plan for a permanent end to hostilities.”
The real question going forward, Blinken said, was simple: “How can we build a lasting peace?” He then claimed that the Biden administration had developed the plan for Gaza, and that Trump had simply “adopted and built on” that.
“It starts with a clear and comprehensive post conflict plan for Gaza. It’s good that President Trump adopted and built on the plan the Biden Administration developed after months of discussion with Arab partners, Israel and the Palestinian Authority,” Blinken said.
Trump was neither convinced nor impressed by Blinken’s claims, and said so to reporters aboard Air Force One. “Everybody knows that’s a joke. They did such a bad job. This should’ve never happened. This wouldn’t have happened. That was weak leadership, terrible — and the same thing with Russia,” Trump said. “Everything they did was the opposite of what you should’ve done.”
.@POTUS: “Everybody knows that’s a joke. They did such a bad job. This should’ve never happened… Everything they did was the opposite of what you should’ve done.” https://t.co/NAJbjDO9qf pic.twitter.com/m27U4btgZf
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 13, 2025