We begin on Friday, September 11th, on the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died in New York, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, President Trump and Vice President Pence pay solemn tributes to the men, women, and children who were lost on that day, while also honoring the heroes who rushed into danger and save as many people as they could. A nice moment was shared between Vice President Pence and former Vice President Joe Biden in New York as the two greeted each other.
Their moment is an important reminder that whether we disagree on politics or policy, we, Americans, can put our differences aside and remember the values we share.
Later, Trump announces that the tiny Middle East nation of Bahrain has agreed to join in a peace deal with Israel. Bahrain becomes the second Middle Eastern country behind the United Arab Emirates, and joins Serbia and Kosovo, located in Eastern Europe, to normalize relations with the Jewish State in just the last month.
Saturday, September 12th, Trump travels to Nevada for a campaign rally, pledging that he doesn’t have to hold his punches anymore after criticizing a Biden ad that seized on his comments about American soldiers, calling them “losers” and “suckers.”
Skipping ahead to Monday, September 14th, President Trump travels to California where he meets with state and local leaders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom. While many Democrats were calling on the president to address the effects of climate change and the claim that it has a central role in the wildfires raging out west, Trump put the onus on forest management, or a lack thereof, in which there’s been a failure to rake forest floors and clear out dead timber.
Tuesday, September 15th, at a historic White House ceremony, Israel signs diplomatic pacts normalizing relations with both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The pacts, dubbed the “Abraham Accords” in honor of the patriarch of the world’s three major monotheistic religions, isn’t considered a formal peace treaty, but include pledges to advance diplomacy and regional peace and build cooperation on 15 mutual areas.
Wednesday, September 16th, President Trump urges his party to back a substantially larger coronavirus stimulus package in Congress, writing on Twitter, “Go for the much higher numbers, Republicans, it all comes back to the USA anyway (one way or another!).” Currently, there’s been a stalemate on Capitol Hill over the fifth relief bill, however, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told CNBC that he’s been more optimistic about a deal being made in the last 72 hours than in the last 72 days.
Thursday, September 17th, President Trump launches the “Patriotic Education” commission, a pro-American initiative in the country’s education system to push back against liberal indoctrination through efforts like the 1619 project, which the president calls “ideological poison.” The 1619 project, headed up by Nikole Hannah-Jones of the New York Times, won a Pulitzer Prize despite making a significant correction that the American Revolutionary War wasn’t primarily fought to preserve the institution of slavery.
Later, Trump travels to Mosinee, Wisconsin, for a campaign rally two weeks after visiting Kenosha to survey the damage from the unrest, sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Despite wildfires raging out West and the country still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump racked up a huge foreign policy win, brokering agreements that normalize relations between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain. For those who have seen nothing but war and animosity between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East, it may be the one goal of that most were skeptical about in a Trump presidency, yet taking these steps towards peace, albeit small, is nothing short of momentous.
