O'Leary on Gaza agreement: Adversaries 'scared poo-poo' of Trump

Entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary said Wednesday that the ceasefire-hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas was reached Wednesday because foreign adversaries are scared of President-elect Trump, who returns to the Oval Office next week.

In a roundtable discussion on CNN’s "NewsNight," O’Leary acknowledged the deal follows the contours of the framework President Biden laid out last May, but he said Trump “made it happen.”

“The infrastructure of the deal is definitely Biden since last May — 100 percent,” O’Leary told the panel. “But what made it happen is, Trump is unpredictable, and the adversaries all around the world are scared poo-poo.”

“They‘re scared of him. ‘He‘s crazy’ — That‘s how they think about it. So, they wanted to get this deal done," O Leary continued. "Hamas said, 'Oh, s‑‑‑. Oh, poo-poo. Here comes Trump. We‘re going to close this deal now.’”

The billionaire investor, who backed Trump for president in 2024, said U.S. adversaries everywhere heard Trump’s Jan. 7 warning that "all hell" would break loose if hostages in Gaza were not released by the time he enters office Jan. 20.

“It took Trump to say, in that one Mar-a-Lago press conference, there'll be hell to pay if I get to the office and these hostages aren't back,” O’Leary said, paraphrasing Trump’s remarks.

“The whole world heard it and … there was a deal,” he added.

“It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone,” Trump said at the press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida earlier this month. “All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is.”

Biden and Trump have both claimed credit for securing the hostage deal.

The president brushed off a question Wednesday about whether it would be he or Trump who got credit for the deal, saying, “Is that a joke?” in response to the reporter. The president-elect publicly celebrated the news of the deal before an official statement from the White House was released hours later, and he claimed the credit for himself, saying a deal would not have happened without his victory in November over Vice President Harris.

While announcing the deal with Harris by his side, Biden acknowledged it will be implemented after he leaves office and said his team has been working with Trump’s incoming team.

“I’d also note, this deal was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented, for the most part, by the next administration. For these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team,” the president said in remarks from the White House.

He also highlighted the framework of the deal, similar to what his administration helped negotiate last year, and that Israel was able to weaken Hamas with the help of U.S. aid.

“I knew this deal would have to be implemented by the next team, so I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we’re all speaking with the same voice, because that’s what America’s presidents do,” Biden said.

Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, worked closely with Biden’s negotiators to reach a conclusion on the deal. Trump, in his statement, said Witkoff and his incoming national security team “will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven.”

The Biden administration has been working for months on a ceasefire deal, following more than a year of fighting since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, initial attack against Israel, and Israel’s subsequent war against the U.S.-designated terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

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