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Mitchell: Trump Trip Being Received 'Very, Very Well' in Middle East

May 23, 2017

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's first foreign trip since taking office was being received "very, very well" in the Middle East.

"It's actually being received very, very well in this region," Mitchell said on "Morning Joe."

"I have to tell you that his scripted speeches, the speech he just gave at the museum, the cultural museum, was very well received in Israeli media, as well as among the people obviously there, the invited guests," Mitchell said. "But he hit all of the notes."

Mitchell then spoke of Trump's ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before turning to Trump's visit with Palestinian leadership and his desire to for a coalition of Middle East partners in order to combat terrorism in the region. Mitchell also said that Trump's focus on combating terrorism during his trip fits with what Israelis are thinking.

Host Joe Scarborough asked Mitchell if she believed that a "historic opportunity" for Israelis and Arabs to come together could occur due to former President Barack Obama making a deal with Iran regarding their nuclear program.

"I think that is possible, for all the reasons you cite, and it isn't just the Iranian threat, although that is the most important ingredient in all of this," Mitchell said. "But it was the way President Obama treated Mubarak, which did not go down well with the Sunni Arab leaders, and also his failure to enforce the red line against Assad over chemical weapons."