How Trump can earn a place in history that he did not expect

Does Donald Trump's return to the presidency herald the end of US pressure on Israelis and Palestinians for a two-state solution? Not necessarily; it depends on which Donald Trump occupies the White House.

- By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Will it be the Trump who just appointed Mike Huckabee, a supporter of Israeli annexation of the West Bank, as his new ambassador in Jerusalem? Or will it be the Trump who, with his son-in-law Jared Kushner, crafted and released the most detailed plan for a two-state solution since Bill Clinton's administration?

You read that right: Trump was the rare American president who actually put out a detailed plan for coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. If that Trump revives that initiative in 2025, he could be remembered as the president who preserved Israel as a Jewish democracy and helped to securely birth a Palestinian state alongside it. But if he continues along the path signaled by the Huckabee nomination, he will most likely be remembered as the president who oversaw the end of Israel as a Jewish democracy and buried any hope of a Palestinian state. Either way, Trump may not be interested in Jewish or Palestinian history, but Jewish and Palestinian history will be interested in him.

The last time I spoke with Trump, four years ago, he called to thank me for endorsing the Abraham Accords, which paved the way for a historic peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Say what you will about Trump (and there is a lot to say), but he's drawn to striking big deals that can have profound and even history-shaping consequences. I've just spent a week in Israel and the UAE talking to political, military and business leaders, Jews and Palestinians and Arabs about what Trump might do in their region this time around. There is enormous opportunity and appetite for a game-changing deal—if Trump wants to reach for it and only if he does it right.