Mike Evans to TML on Inauguration Day: All the ‘Little Devils’ Are Frightened of a Strong Man
Trump will allow Israel to take out Iran, make peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and create stability throughout the Middle East, Friends of Zion Museum founder Mike Evans said in an interview with The Media Line
Following President Donald Trump’s swearing-in on Monday, Israelis are holding faith that the new US administration might bring the country peace and prosperity after nearly a year and a half of war. The Media Line’s Felice Friedson sat down with Mike Evans, founder of Jerusalem’s Friends of Zion Museum, to discuss what Trump’s presidency might hold for Israel.
Evans described Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as two “very strong alphas” with a “rock solid” relationship.
“I know both of the men very well,” he said. “They’re both pragmatic men. They’re both extremely intelligent men. They both have the same heroes, Reagan and Churchill.”
The 100 or so executive orders that Trump has pledged to sign soon after taking office will likely not address issues related to the Middle East, Evans said, noting that the president “definitely has a plan” for Israel.
Evans said that Israel cannot continue to sustain the war in Gaza, especially now that Hamas and many other Iranian proxies have been “fundamentally” destroyed. “You can’t destroy Hamas, because it’s an ideology,” he said. “You don’t kill an ideology with a bullet.”
He said that reeducation of the people of Gaza will take “years and years” and will likely be managed by Saudi Arabia.
In the coming year, Trump will make peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia, he predicted, which will lead to peace between Israel and the wider Sunni world.
“Saudi Arabia has zero tolerance for terror,” Evans said. “I’ve met with the crown prince. He doesn’t allow one mullah to give one message that they don’t approve. So I believe you’re going to have the Saudis in Gaza doing a massive reeducation program, shutting all that media down, shutting that social network down, draining the swamp, and reeducation.”
Evans described the ceasefire and hostage release deal, in which 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, as “bittersweet.” “Nobody can rejoice over seeing terrorists leave,” he said.
“There has to be a solution, even though it’s painful,” he added.
The recent deal reminded Evans of past high-profile exchanges, including the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011, who was traded for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. The debate over the moral complexities and high price of such agreements has traumatized the country. “The country has to heal. The economy has to get restored. People’s lives have to get better,” Evans said. “The future is going to be bright for Israel, but they can’t keep this dance up with the devil.”
Some critics have expressed concerns that the ceasefire may simply allow Hamas time to regroup. “Donald Trump won’t allow that,” Evans said. “I believe what Donald Trump has told Prime Minister Netanyahu is if they break the deal, he’ll give Israel everything they need and tell them to finish the job. He’s not going to allow there to be a terrorist state in Gaza.”
He said Trump would also establish an independent trust for Gaza free of corruption. “Qatar and other countries have funded Hamas,” he said. “Donald Trump will give them hell to pay if they try this again. He’ll put sanctions on them.”
The radical Islamic machine that has used the media to fundraise like a Jerry Lewis telethon will have no power anymore
This holiday season, give to:
Truth and understanding
The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting.
They all said they cover it.
We see it.
We report with just one agenda: the truth.
Please support TML's boots on the ground.Donate
Evans emphasized that Trump’s leadership would end Hamas’ ability to raise funds using propaganda. “The radical Islamic machine that has used the media to fundraise like a Jerry Lewis telethon will have no power anymore,” he said, referring to the late comedian’s famed charity efforts.
The fall of the Syrian regime has been an economic drain for Hamas, Evans said, predicting that other sources of funding for the group would soon dry up as well. “Donald Trump will have zero tolerance for any of this because, if you remember him in the last four years, he had zero tolerance for the PA and their games,” he said.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt will ensure that weapons and contraband don’t enter Gaza through Egypt, Evans said. “I know President el-Sisi very well,” he said, noting that the Egyptian president could be “an enormous help” to the US and Israel.
“El-Sisi overcame the Muslim Brotherhood that tried to do to his country what they did to Syria, and he understands this mess in Gaza,” Evans said. “Listen, Egypt’s played a huge role in the negotiations.”
Evans said that getting out of Gaza would allow Israel to focus on Iran, which he identified as the root cause of the chaos in the Middle East.
In 2024, Israel and Iran exchanged direct strikes for the first time. Israel’s strikes on Iran have caused significant damage to Iranian infrastructure, but the Iranian nuclear program is still intact.
During his first presidency, Trump pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, trying to force the country to negotiate a new nuclear deal. Seven years later, “Trump knows that sanctions won’t work,” Evans said. “You have a country that’s making hundreds of billions of dollars a year off of oil. Oil is the power of Iran.”
To bring down Iran, Israel will have to strike the country’s oil refineries and collapse its economy, Evans explained. “They can do it in 72 hours,” he said. “Iran has no missile defense now.”
“The shah was overthrown with an oil strike. So Israel is going to have to deal with the head of the snake,” he continued.
Once given the opportunity, the Iranian people will overthrow the regime, Evans predicted. “I believe that Israel can give them that opportunity,” he said.
Evans described Israel as “the proxy of the United States to deter radical Islam.” “Donald Trump isn’t going to go into war,” he said. “He’s an anti-war president. But he will give Israel everything they can conceivably need to finish the job and stop this insanity from going on.”
He said that Trump will likely not support a “land for peace” solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I believe that Donald Trump will support the Mike Huckabee plan, which is sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, and also the David Friedman plan, which calls for the Puerto Rico model, where they don’t have the right to vote, but they’re still part of the United States,” he said.
Once Israel has ended the Iranian threat and achieved peace with Saudi Arabia, making peace with the Palestinians will become more plausible, Evans said. “They’re going to wake up to a new reality. The funding will be gone for terror. So they’re going to have to make a choice,” he said.
Evans called attention to the 160,000 or so Americans of Palestinian descent. “None of them are terrorists,” he said. “They’re productive, they’re intelligent, they’re peace-loving people. These Palestinians in this region have to become like them.”
He said that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia once told him that Palestinians ought to imitate Israel, not fight Israel. “And that’s precisely what they’ll have to do,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s head of state, King Salman, is 89 years old, but Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman is the country’s de facto ruler. “He is in charge,” Evans said. “And I’ve seen with my own eyes, he has zero tolerance for antisemitism. He’s more pro-Israel than most Jews.”
Some have criticized the crown prince for not doing more to address antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment among the Saudi people, but Evans said that Salman was taking steps behind the scenes.
“Jared Kushner is still engaged and very well aware of it,” he said. “It’s going to be fine for Israel. The future is bright for Israel. It’s probably brighter than it’s ever been.”
He said that Israel would need time to heal from the trauma of the October 7 attacks and the war that followed. “They’re still going through the traumatic stress,” he said. “The country has to heal. The economy has to get restored. People’s lives have to get better.”
“My concern is the fragility of the Israelis now,” Evans said. “I think they’re suffering. Their tolerance for pain is very low right now, and they’re getting limited information.”
In a fragmented society like Israel, each special interest group wants to relate to Netanyahu as a mayor, Evans said.
The next Israeli elections are scheduled for October 2026, but Evans said that there may end up being early elections. Those who might try to call early elections are “competing with the best political chess player on the planet, Benjamin Netanyahu, and they’re all lightweights,” he said.
“He’s a pro at running elections,” Evans continued. “I think it’d be a mistake on their part to play that card and try to take down the government. I don’t really know what’s next.”
Israel’s recent successes against Hezbollah and Hamas have somewhat secured the country’s position in the Middle East. But the region is still volatile, especially after the fall of the Syrian regime, and it’s possible that new developments may lead to even greater instability.
Evans said that Trump taking power will have a stabilizing effect on the region. He recounted the story of Andrew Brunson, a US citizen who was serving as a pastor in Turkey. Brunson was imprisoned on charges of spying, and Trump put economic pressure on Turkey until President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to release him, he said.
When you have a strong man like Donald Trump leading the global world order, all of the little devils attempt to behave, because they’re frightened of a strong man
“When you have a strong man like Donald Trump leading the global world order, all of the little devils attempt to behave, because they’re frightened of a strong man,” he said. “So right now, these little devils are going to try to behave.”
