MAGA figures rushed into full damage control mode after Trump’s peace envoy, Steve Witkoff, openly admitted that he might have been “duped” by Hamas during recent peace talks. The statement put the Trump camp on the defensive and revealed cracks in their handling of diplomacy with the terror group.
Vice President JD Vance immediately sprang to Witkoff’s defense on Monday, trying to control the narrative with a post on X. “Steve Witkoff is a great guy doing an incredible job. The people sniping at him are mad that he is succeeding where they failed for 40 years,” Vance wrote.
“Turns out a lot of diplomacy boils down to a simple skill: don’t be an idiot,” Vance added, clearly aiming to downplay any concerns over Witkoff’s admission.
Witkoff’s comments were made on Fox News Sunday, where he was caught off guard revealing a serious diplomatic blunder. Reflecting on his recent talks with Arab leaders at an Arab summit in Doha, Qatar, Witkoff admitted that he thought a deal was in place, including Hamas’ approval. But in a stunning confession, he said, “Maybe that is just me getting duped.”
Witkoff had spent seven hours in Doha negotiating with regional leaders, believing he had secured an extension of the ceasefire. However, Hamas, the militant group in control of Gaza, ultimately rejected the deal.
“I was in Doha, I met with many of the Arab leaders at the Arab summit; I thought we had a deal, an acceptable deal,” he said recalling talks in Doha, Qatar, last Sunday. “I even thought we had an approval from Hamas. Maybe that is just me getting duped.”
“But I thought we were there. And evidently we weren’t. This is on Hamas,” Witkoff said. “The United States stands with the state of Israel. That’s a 100 percent commitment. We have expressed that.”
The fallout was immediate. MAGA supporters quickly flooded social media with defenses of Witkoff, trying to save face. One user praised him for pursuing diplomacy: “Steve Witkoff is doing good. Actual dialogue and diplomacy is so much better than chest thumping,” the post read.
Another supporter added, “Witkoff knows peace comes from compromise. His detractors don’t want to accept that reality.” These comments echoed the MAGA camp’s efforts to portray Witkoff’s diplomacy as a success, despite his own admission of being misled.
But not everyone was so charitable. The conservative National Review, which has often been critical of Trump’s foreign policy, wasted no time in pointing out the obvious: “Yes, Mr. Witkoff. You were duped.”
Witkoff also made waves with a comment about Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that he trusts that Putin won’t invade other European countries beyond Ukraine.
“I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe,” Witkoff said. “This is a much different situation than it was in World War II. In World War II, there was no NATO. You have countries that are armed there. To me, it just—I take him at his word in this sense.”
Witkoff’s contradictory statements on diplomacy and foreign relations only served to fuel the fire, leaving MAGA world scrambling to justify his words and prevent further damage.
Watch Witkoff’s remarks below from Fox News:
Steve Witkoff: “I thought we had a deal…. maybe that’s just me getting duped [by Hamas].”
No, Mr. Witkoff — it was Qatar. You were duped by Qatar. pic.twitter.com/yGceTqKGPp
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) March 23, 2025
