NEW YORK – President Donald Trump “loves” the hostage families and has not forgotten their loved ones, Vice President JD Vance said Thursday morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual confab in Maryland.
“He’s gonna fight every single day to bring them home,” Vance said. “That is exactly what he’s been doing, and that’s what he’ll keep on doing.”Vance recounted a conversation with a friend who asked him why former president Joe Biden was unable to make progress in the hostage-ceasefire negotiations before Trump won the election.
“And I said, ‘Man, it’s just a question of leadership. You actually need a president who is willing to pick up the phone and say you’ve got to bring these people home,’” Vance said.
“You need a president who picks up the phone when negotiations hit a wall and says “cut this crap out, we’ve got to make progress, and you’ve got to keep that pace going,” he said.
“It’s leadership, it really is. And I saw it behind the scenes,” Vance continued.
Vance said before the inauguration, Trump empowered his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to speak on his behalf and “get it done.”
“It’s amazing,” he said. “And, of course, we’ve still got work to do.
We’ve got to finish the process, but I really believe the president is as committed to this as any American leader in my lifetime. We’re going to keep on fighting for it.”
Who attended CPAC?
At the CPAC’s opening plenary on Wednesday, the organization’s chair, Matt Schlapp, invited Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, to begin the event with a prayer and share his family’s story, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
Panel attendees included Richard Grenell, former special presidential envoy for special missions of the United States, and Steve Bannon, former senior counselor to the president.
“President Trump knows that the hostages are out of time,” David told the crowd at CPAC. “The deal that President Trump brought forward saved many lives and needs to continue until all hostages are saved. I would like to pray and read a verse from Isaiah to give strength and protection to President Trump, the leaders of the world, and our loved ones who are waiting for us to save them.”