The last time a U.S. President played the lead role in a major release of international hostages was January 1981.
President Ronald Reagan was in office. By his position and firmness as President-elect, the holders of the American hostages in Lebanon knew they needed to release their captives as soon as the Reagan administration took over for the Carter administration. They did.
Reagan couldn’t go abroad for the release, as he was being inaugurated.
Monday morning, President Donald Trump was in Israel as the first phase of the peace deal he led was consummated. All twenty of the living hostages were released by Hamas and their cohorts.
Trump then made a historical speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
It may have been the most historically significant speech of a head of state to a foreign legislature since Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke to the United States Congress in 1942 in early World War II.
Immediately after the speech, Trump flew to Egypt for meetings with 20-plus international leaders to solidify the next steps in his Middle East peace plan.
Alabama leaders began reacting to the world-changing events and the generational leadership exercised by President Trump.
U.S. Senator Katie Britt called the moment a global victory: “Peace is not just a hope—it’s a reality that we will continue to build upon, person by person, nation by nation.”
“The world wanted peace in the region,” Britt (R-Montgomery) wrote. “[President Trump] delivered.”
Numerous Alabama Republican congressmen quickly reacted to official word of the hostages’ release this morning.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers was among the first of them.
“Years of prayers finally answered,” Rogers (R-Saks) wrote. “The hostages are HOME!”
U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt said that history was made today and called for prayer to sustain the peace into the future.
“The safe return of the hostages and President Trump’s bold address in the Knesset mark the dawn of what he calls a ‘golden age’ in the Middle East,” Aderholt (R-Haleyville) wrote. ”
Let’s pray this truly marks the beginning of lasting stability and hope for the region.
U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) quoted President Trump today in saying the impossible has been made possible.
“Thank you President Trump,” Moore wrote. “A true peacemaker!”
“The hostages are home thanks to [President Trump]— the President of Peace,” U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) said.
Jim Zig Zeigler is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. His beat includes the positive and colorful about Alabama – her people, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor and Public Service Commissioner. You can reach him at [email protected].
