President Trump's visit to the Arab Gulf nation is the first major trip to his second presidency - both domestically and internationally.

So far, the president has provided a $400 million luxury aircraft from Qatar as Air Force One, a plan that has been criticized by Republican and Democratic lawmakers. He announced how the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plans to invest about $600 billion in the United States, including arms trading, technology investment and AI data centers.

On Wednesday, Trump met with Syria's interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa, calling him a "tough guy" who had a "real shot" against stable Syria. Sharaa's government has said for months it hopes to normalize relations with its long-term rival Israel.

Trump also announced that he would lift sanctions on Syria. The comeback of these sanctions has caused some confusion for Israel, with Syria attacking hundreds of times since the collapse of its former dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer Award-winning columnist The New York Times People who have written about the Middle East for a long time told Morning version He believes that Trump's attitude towards the Middle East has so far, especially in Syria.

Friedman said Sharaa has taken some "incredibly positive action" against Israel and is under pressure from Syria, Christians, Muslims and others to diversify Syria's diversity front. ”

Friedman continued: "At least we don't give him a chance? Give him a reputation. So I think the president has made a good move there and I hope the Israelis can take it over," Friedman continued.

In a conversation with NPR's Steve Inskeep, Friedman also discussed the president's goals to Gaza and the wider region, as well as Israel's response to Trump's approach.

This interview has been edited in detail.

Highlights of the interview

Steve Inskeep: Do you think we've just heard of his presidential trip to the Middle East approach?

Thomas Friedman: Well, Steve started at 30,000 feet and I think what the president was trying to do is, first, where there was as much regional conflict as possible, even opening up the possibility of linkage between older people like Syria, Israel, Israel and Saudi Arabia. That's the first. He wanted to do this so he could build some kind of regional security structure to stabilize the region and keep China away. (It will) be the regional structure of the United States region. He wanted to do this so he could take the U.S. troops out of the area and reduce our spending there. He wanted to do it all in a way that would bring huge profits to American weapons manufacturers and sell it to weapons to stabilize the region. If I were to describe his strategy, I think this is a four-part concept.

Inskeep: How do you think of the president's intimacy with the Middle East dictator who decided to accept the decision to free airplanes, if it has actually been passed, and everything else?

Friedman: Yes. This is a very bad idea. I mean, except for the violation of the Emer's clauses of the Constitution. If we are effective in the region, we need to be neutral arbitrators, rather than engage in personal business with the geopolitical interests of the United States of America. Bad idea. Hopefully it won't happen.

Inskeep: But with that being said, what you describe is that some old conflicts can be viewed from a very positive perspective, trying to overcome some old conflicts, thinking about the region in a fresh way, talking about the new rulers of Syria in a friendly way, talking about some kind of agreement with Iran, talking directly with Iran. Do you see some creative possibilities here?

Friedman: Yes, I saw some real creativity. I especially like what the president has done to Syria. This moment reminds me of the moment after the fall of the Soviet Union, some of us think we should give up NATO's expansion for some time, and we see if we have the potential to become a dream of a democratic Russia. I would recommend the Israelites to the same thing. Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa certainly has an Islamic background, but he did make some incredibly positive moves to Israel and was under pressure from a diversified front in Syria, Syria, Syria, Syria, Syria, Syria, and others. Why don’t we give him a chance at least? Give him a reputation that has failed. So I think the president did a good move there, I support it, and hope the Israelis play it.

Inskeep: Why do you think Israel hasn't had more exposure to what seems to have expanded into their Syrian hands?

Friedman: They have reasons to obviously distrust Sarah. And there are tensions, especially in Syria. Some groups oppose Druze, Syria. The Druze community in northern Israel is part of the Israeli government. There are tensions around. It was a very tough government and took a hostile view of everyone in the region. So I hope they see this and see here an incredible opportunity.

Syria is such a cornerstone. I said that when the countries in Middle Eastern countries were beheaded, one of two things happened: some countries exploded and others exploded. Syria is an explosion country because it is basically different from ethnicity and religion in the region. It exploded unstable. However, if stabilized, it will radiate and explode more stability. It actually affects Iraq. This will affect Lebanon. This is the cornerstone of everything.

Inskeep: The president told reporters that he had an idea about Gaza, but otherwise he would not pay much attention to the war. This is an overwhelming topic of conversation in the United States and the Middle East a year ago. Do you feel like you see any direction forward in the Israeli war with Hamas?

Friedman: I think the only way forward is to end the battle and Israel restores all its hostages. Palestinians have a prisoner to exchange Hamas. The Hamas leaders left Gaza where you got a different leadership but had a permanent ceasefire. That is the only hope. This is the president's job. That's why Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is opposing because the far-right lunatic in his administration threatens to take him down if he doesn't continue the war.

The biggest challenge, and the most worrying thing when the president talks about a deal with Iran and Gaza and a deal with Whatnot, is implementation. It's great to have these title stories, but who is actually going to build these deals and who will actually do the detailed work? I can't see that the government is really good at this detailed follow-up now. This is why I care most. But I thank the title for its efforts.

Inskeep: But do you think the government actually has a serious concept about Gaza, and can use the president's words?

Friedman: I think they have a concept, but to implement it, you know, you have to be very hard. You have to be tough for everyone. It's a tough area. If you aren't ready, you know, breaking some knuckles to do the job and doing it in a constant diplomatic way, it won't happen.

The broadcast version of this story was edited by Reena Advani and produced by Nia Dumas. Numbers are edited by Treye Green.