Why would the former Democratic presidential nominee endorse one of Trump’s more grotesque ventures?
by Robert Kuttner June 30, 2026 (Prospect.org)
On Saturday, The Guardian published a leaked draft memo that would give Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” and its contractors in Gaza blanket legal immunity from any charges of wrongdoing. The draft language would also let the organization obtain public property in Gaza “free of charge.” This is only the latest example of the crass power grab in Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which U.S. representatives strong-armed the U.N. Security Council into endorsing back in November 2025.
Meanwhile, on June 18, Hillary Rodham Clinton published an absolutely bizarre op-ed piece in the Financial Times endorsing Trump’s Board of Peace and its grand plans for Gaza. The op-ed was titled “The World May Not Like Trump’s Gaza Plan—but There Is No Alternative.”
Neither article has gotten much attention in U.S. media.
Clinton wrote, “There is no alternative framework waiting in the wings. No rival coalition is quietly preparing a more viable proposal. The 20-point plan is not the one many of us would have drafted, but it remains the only framework backed by sufficient leverage, political engagement and potential resources to move the parties towards implementation.”
Say what? This is total malarkey. There had better be alternatives.
Trump’s Gaza design, a real estate grab masquerading as a peace plan and economic reconstruction, can move forward only in the context of total Israeli domination of Gaza and victory over Hamas and Hezbollah, goals that look less likely by the day. The Board of Peace epitomizes Trump’s corrupt conflation of his family financial interests with U.S. foreign policy.
Clinton went on: “The Board of Peace and the plan contain elements many governments dislike or disagree with. Some are uneasy with the political sequencing, sceptical of provisions on Palestinian governance and representation, or wary of placing trust in an American-led framework at a moment when confidence in U.S. leadership has eroded. Many are understandably sceptical of an approach so closely associated with Donald Trump.”
Well, yes!
She concluded, “Yet if even I, an implacable opponent of President Trump, can accept that this is the best option in a terrible situation, then surely others can too?”
With a different control structure, some of the elements of the 20-point plan do make sense, especially the rebuilding of infrastructure and other economic development—but not as a Trump family business. Moreover, any legitimate redevelopment of Gaza needs a substantial role for Palestinians, and as long as Benjamin Netanyahu is prime minister, that is a nonstarter. Even a post-Netanyahu government would likely resist.
Why on earth would Clinton, savaged in 2016 by Trump, who keeps trashing both her husband and the president, Barack Obama, whom she served as secretary of state, now be carrying water for him? And why now, when the entire Trump design for achieving regional hegemony by annihilating Iran has imploded?
The structure of the Board of Peace underscores the sheer corruption. Trump is “Chairman for Life,” even after he leaves the presidency. Other key members of the executive board are close-in Trump aides and cronies: son-in-law Jared Kushner, real estate and golfing buddy (and part-time failed diplomat) Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, among others. The only non-Trumpie is former British prime minister and world-class opportunist Tony Blair.
Should we have any doubt that Hillary Clinton is doing someone a favor, to be called in at a later date, in what novelist Tom Wolfe memorably called the Favor Bank?
My guess would be Tony Blair, who stands to gain if the Gaza plan goes forward. Blair is close to the Clintons and has been a regular speaker at their events. Trump’s enterprises, mixing official business and family businesses, are only more brazen versions of a model ventured by the Clintons in the Clinton Global Initiative and Blair’s Institute for Global Change, which made both families rich.
As Democrats try to contain Trump and pose compelling alternatives, too many cynical voters conclude, “They all do it.” Softer corruption gives Trump cover for more overt corruption.
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Robert Kuttner
Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School. His latest book is Notes for Next Time: Surviving Tyranny, Redeeming America. Follow Bob at his site, robertkuttner.com, and on Twitter. More by Robert Kuttner
