The Informal Power Network and Trump’s Personal Diplomacy

Donald Trump’s statements in his recent interview with TIME magazine reveal the contours of an informal power network that bypasses traditional U.S. government institutions and shapes aspects of Washington’s Middle East policy.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump remained in contact with Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the Mar-a-Lago resort in July of that year. TIME reports: “It was an open secret that Netanyahu was rooting for Trump’s return to the White House as President Joe Biden pressured him to halt the onslaught on Gaza.” Speaking about Israeli strikes on Hezbollah and Syria, Trump interrupted to say:

“All of those attacks were done under my auspices, you know, with Israel doing the attacks—with the pagers and all that stuff.” This statement suggests the existence of a broader network of interests beyond the formal administration—a deep network involving financiers, media figures, arms companies, and security contractors, along with regional political allies who saw Trump as a guarantor of their interests, particularly in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Since his first term, Trump has managed foreign policy like a business deal. He handed the Middle East file to his son-in-law Jared Kushner without an official title, while Ivanka Trump represented Washington at sensitive events such as the embassy opening in Jerusalem.

“The most important thing is they have to respect the President of the United States. The Middle East has to understand that. It’s almost the President more than the country.” — Trump to TIME. This approach created a form of personal diplomacy parallel to institutional channels, driven more by trust and interests than by protocol. Through it, Trump maintained communications with regional leaders even outside of office, paving the way for what was later called the “peace deal.”

At its core, this appears to be more than the influence of one man—it is a structure of informal power that preserves its interests through individuals and networks, not through administrations.