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One year ago, President Donald Trump was serving french fries at McDonald's. Now, he's bringing peace to the Middle East.
Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen drew that comparison while joining 'America's Newsroom' on Monday, hours after all 20 living Israeli hostages were freed from Hamas captivity.
"It's one of the greatest political comebacks in modern times, and it's having an effect on the world," he said.
Then-Republican candidate Donald Trump works behind the counter making french fries during a campaign event at McDonald's restaurant on October 20, 2024 in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania. (left); U.S. President Donald Trump poses with the signed agreement at a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. (right) (Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images (left); Suzanne Plunkett - Pool / Getty Images (right))
"I was thinking about what Ronald Reagan said in his ‘time for choosing’ speech:… 'You can have peace in the next second, just surrender.’ This is the opposite. This is peace through victory."
Thiessen's remarks on the "comeback" referenced Trump's 2024 campaign appearance at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, before he squared off against then-Vice President Kamala Harris on the national stage.
The comments also came as the Trump-pushed Middle East peace deal between Israel and Hamas unfolded in real time, just over two years after the deadly terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.
TRUMP STARTS WEEK IN MIDDLE EAST, OVERSEEING HISTORIC PEACE AGREEMENT
People gather to celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, at a plaza known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Thiessen said a lot has happened since that fateful day propelled the region into conflict.
"If you think about what has happened… all three Sinwar brothers killed, the entire Hamas senior leadership eliminated, Hezbollah's entire leadership eliminated and most of its operatives killed through exploding pagers and walkie-talkies and airstrikes. Syrian regime, Assad, is gone. Iran's greatest ally in the region would shut down the arms pipeline from Iran into Gaza and Lebanon and the West Bank. The entire Iranian air defenses and its ballistic missile program, destroyed by Israel, and Operation Midnight Hammer… This is peace through victory."
Thiessen also drew comparison between Trump and former President Joe Biden, who he alleged did more harm than good by attempting to stop Israel from fighting before achieving victory.
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"Trump released the weapons and told him, ‘go get them’ and, when they did, he said, ‘Okay, now you got them, now we can have peace.’ He forced Hamas into a corner, and what we're seeing today is not just peace, it's peace through victory."
Trump attended a peace summit in Egypt on Monday, where he signed the historic Gaza peace deal.
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
