🔗 Share this article

An urgent handwritten message passed to the President by his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, indicated that an announcement regarding a ceasefire deal in Gaza might be made imminently.

Captured in a image, the note's contents urged the president to approve a message on his social media network to announce the news first.

"Very close," the note read, according to the photo. "We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first."

Not long after the note was seen, Trump published on his Truth Social network, stating he was "very proud" to reveal the first phase of the agreement.

"This indicates that ALL of the Hostages will be released shortly, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Robust, Long-lasting, and Enduring Peace," he wrote.

The Moment the Note Was Passed to Trump

Trump was conducting a discussion with right-leaning commentators about antifa when Rubio, standing in the rear of the White House's state room, caught his eye.

He wanted to share an update for Trump, he said, but it would have to be delayed until after the press left. Then, Rubio handed the president the note.

"I just received a note by the secretary of state saying that we're very close to a deal on the Middle East, and they're gonna need me pretty quickly," Trump said. "So we'll take a couple of more questions."

Behind the Scenes of the Negotiations

The event had already been underway for more than an hour when Rubio came forward. The president invited him to come in, and Rubio whispered something to Trump before handing him the note.

The note's pressing nature came as Trump's top Middle East adviser, Steve Witkoff, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and other senior officials joined a third day of negotiations between Israel and Hamas at an Egyptian resort – a sign that negotiators are working to tackle the toughest issues of a American proposal to end the war in Gaza.

Trump's Remarks on Overseas Trip

Trump had kicked off the influencer event by telling assembled journalists that he planned to travel to the Middle East "near the conclusion of the week" and could even "visit multiple locations" in the region to Cairo and possibly Gaza as US diplomats closed in on a deal.

Still, even after Rubio passed Trump the note, Trump continued to talk to the influencers and take questions from the media as the secretary of state became noticeably restless.

Concluding the Event

Almost 10 minutes after his initial comments about departing, Trump declared: "I have to go now to try and resolve some problems in the Middle East – although I'm ably assisted by our secretary of state. He could probably do an even better job than me, but who knows."

"We don't want to take any chances. So we're going to go and do that," Trump continued.

He then suggested that Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem stay and answer inquiries in his stead. Nonetheless, Trump continued to take questions before the event finally broke up without Cabinet members remaining behind.

"We will achieve peace in the Middle East," Trump wrapped by saying. "That's what we want to do."