It’s been a difficult few weeks for the world’s beta leadership class.

Last month, Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Canada’s Mark Carney, and Portugal’s Paulo Rangel sparked fury among anyone who opposes Islamic terrorism when they recognized a Palestinian state. “Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” said Starmer, blind to the oxymoronic notion that rewarding terrorism will ever bring about its end.

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TRUMP CELEBRATES ‘GOLDEN AGE’ OF ISRAEL AND MIDDLE EAST

This demonstration of fecklessness was simply the latest chapter in a long history of pandering and placation. It pushed the Western belief that if we’re nice enough to those who chant for our deaths, if we give enough money to those who want to erase our civilization, and if we give enough meaningless proclamations of support to those who are as uncompromising as they are relentless, the threat posed by radical Islam will evaporate. The Iran nuclear deal was built on the same flawed premise, complete with pallets of cash.

Enter Donald Trump, who has again shattered this delusion.

During his first and second administrations, the president showed what was necessary for actual peace to be achieved. After delivering the historic Abraham Accords, in which Arab nations established or normalized diplomatic and economic relations with Israel, a country they had wanted to wipe from the map just decades earlier, Trump has now delivered a ceasefire and returned hostages, temporarily ending the brutal two-year war between Israel and Hamas that followed the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

And how did Trump do this? He didn’t reward terrorists, try to flatter his way to peace, or pretend Islamic radicalism simply doesn’t exist. Instead, he stood behind Israel and demonstrated unwavering and insurmountable strength, with Israel shaking off the burdens of the Biden administration and bringing Hamas to its knees. The American military struck a blow to the heart of the radical regime behind the ongoing violence in the Middle East: Iran.

In a single stroke, Trump did what the rest of the political class has failed to do for half a century: He delivered results. There were no empty peace conferences, self-righteous lectures about “restraint,” or arguments about both sides being morally equal. Instead, there was just hard-nosed negotiation backed by the threat of overwhelming force. Using the only language radical Islamists understand predictably resulted in peace, not because everyone held hands but because everyone knows that America, under Donald Trump, is in charge.

Sure, Trump’s brand of foreign policy isn’t pretty, but it’s moral. Not in the fragile, handwringing way that Macron and Starmer promote, but in the only way that matters: in its defense of civilization against barbarism. While other Western leaders still believe that weakness is virtue, Trump understands that peace only comes through strength. He doesn’t apologize for standing with the only democracy in the Middle East. He doesn’t stutter about “proportionality” while terrorists hide behind children. He knows that civilization either asserts itself or it collapses.

ALL LIVING ISRAELI HOSTAGES OFFICIALLY FREED FROM HAMAS CAPTIVITY

If it were up to leaders like Macron, Starmer, Carney, or, God forbid, Kamala Harris, a state of Palestine would have been recognized, all the while Israeli hostages continued to remain in the depths of Gaza. It’s really that simple.

Time after time, Trump has humiliated his critics by proving that his foreign policy is not simplistic, reckless, or chaotic but devastatingly effective. Now, the world faces a choice. It can continue to follow its Macrons, Starmers, and Carneys into submission, or it can embrace Trump’s style of leadership, which actually delivers results.

Ian Haworth is a syndicated columnist. Follow him on X (@ighaworth) or Substack.