Donald Trump’s Middle East trip this week to Saudi Arabia and Qatar has been full of the president’s signature dealmaking flair.
Yet, back home in the U.S., one of his most prominent congressional allies is taking some of Trump’s wins with a grain of salt.
During an appearance on Fox News on Thursday, Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) shared his take on Trump’s diplomatic moves with the Arab nations of Iran and Qatar.
Kennedy noted that he trusts Qatar like he trusts ‘a rest stop bathroom.’
Asked by Fox News host Bill Hemmer about Trump’s dealmaking with Iran, Kennedy first addressed the deal made between the U.S. and Qatar, an economic exchange estimated to be worth at least $1.2 trillion by the White House.
‘Well, first, quickly, Qatar. I trust Qatar like I trust a rest stop bathroom. If they want to be friendly, I want to be friendly back but with those guys, you know, trust in God, but tie up your camel,’ Kennedy remarked.
Kennedy then shared his take on the president’s negotiations with Iran on the subject of their nuclear arsenal.
‘Now, in terms of Iran, what you do is what you believe, and everything else is just cottage cheese,’ Kennedy continued with a second touch of southern flair.
Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, March 14, 2025
Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) stated during a Fox News appearance that he trusts Qatar like he trusts ‘a rest stop bathroom.’
Kennedy then shifted to highlighting the difference between Trump’s global presence versus that of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
‘In life and in foreign policy, you can’t just talk tough. You got to be tough. Trump’s been president only, well, over 100 days.’
‘So the Iranians have to judge us, and are judging us in part, on the past four years, President Biden talked tough, but look at what he did. You know he, he didn’t enforce the sanctions on Iran. We had a shambolic withdrawal from Afghanistan’
‘He told Putin he shouldn’t go into Ukraine, but if he did, it’s okay, if it’s a minor incursion. President Biden, I mean, he talked tough, but he never delivered,’ Kennedy noted.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (R) receives US President Donald Trump in the Qatari capital Doha
US President Donald Trump addresses troops at the Al-Udeid air base southwest of Doha on May 15, 2025
Sen. Kennedy urged Trump to tell Iran that if the nation does not give up its nuclear weapons, America will ‘saddle up with Israel and slap you into Pluto’
Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, welcomes US President, Donald Trump, at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, on May 14, 2025
Sharing further advice for President Trump, Kennedy added the following.
‘Trump has got to look the Ayatollah the eye and say, look, we can do it the easy way, or the hard way. Okay, let’s skip the foreplay.’
‘You have to get rid of your uranium. All of it. You can’t have a bit of uranium. You’re not going to have a weapon. If you do that, we’ll remove the sanctions, and we’ll help you prosper, as long as you stop hurting people and give up your bomb. If you don’t do that, I’m going to saddle up with Israel and slap you into Pluto.’
Speaking to Gulf leaders Wednesday, Trump noted that he ‘urgently wants to make a deal’, later adding on Thursday that leaders in Tehran have ‘sort of’ agreed to terms.
