Trump Praises Syria’s al Sharaa in Historic Oval Office Meeting

President Donald Trump on Monday met with Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa in the Oval Office, hailing him as a “very strong leader” and expressing optimism about Syria’s role in stabilizing the region.

Monday’s meeting marks the first time a Syrian head of state has met with a US president in the Oval Office.

“He’s a very strong leader. He comes from a very tough place and he’s a tough guy. I like him. I get along with the President, the new president of Syria,” Trump told reporters after the meeting. “We want to see Syria be successful along with the rest of the Middle East. So I have confidence that he’ll be able to do the job.”

Trump confirmed that the U.S. expects Syria to formally join the coalition against ISIS in the coming days. “You can expect some announcements on Syria,” he said. “We want to see Syria become a country that’s very successful. And I think this leader can do it, I really do.”

Defending his engagement with Damascus, Trump said cooperation with regional powers would help ensure long-term stability. “He gets along very well with Turkey, with President Erdogan,” Trump noted. “He’s a great leader. Erdogan’s a great leader. And very much in favor of what’s happening in Syria. We have to make Syria work. Syria is a big part of the Middle East.”

After the meeting, Trump took to his Truth Social to discuss the meeting. “It was an Honor to spend time with Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, the new President of Syria, where we discussed all the intricacies of PEACE in the Middle East, of which he is a major advocate. I look forward to meeting and speaking again. Everyone is talking about the Great Miracle that is taking place in the Middle East. Having a stable and successful Syria is very important to all countries in the Region,” he wrote.

In the Oval Office at the conclusion of the meeting, the president also touched on domestic politics, indicating tentative support for a congressional deal to reopen the government following the extended shutdown. “It depends what deal we’re talking about,” he said. “But if it’s the deal I heard about — certainly we want to change the deal a little bit — but I would say so, because based on everything I’m hearing, they haven’t changed anything, and we have support from enough Democrats and we’re going to be opening up our country. Too bad it was closed but we’ll be opening up our country very quickly.”

Asked whether he approved of provisions reversing the mass firings that occurred during the shutdown, Trump replied simply, “The deal is very good.”

Trump also said tariffs against India would come down “at some point,” praising New Delhi for cutting its reliance on Russian oil, and confirmed talks toward a potential new trade deal with Switzerland.

When asked about criticism from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that he should focus more on domestic policy than foreign affairs, Trump dismissed the remarks. “I don’t know what happened. She’s lost her way, I think,” he said. “But I have to view the presidency as a worldwide situation, not locally. I mean, we could have a world that’s on fire, where wars come to our shores very easily.”