The new grandson of President-elect Donald Trump's hand-picked special envoy for the Middle East has been named after him.
“Congratulations to Zach and Sophie Witkoff on the birth of their son, Don James Witkoff (DJW), who is named after me (thank you!),” Trump, 78, said. Revealed in Truth Social.
Don James is the grandson of Steve Witkoff, a longtime Trump real estate friend from New York who has been named the president-elect's special envoy for the Middle East.
“I wish them all the best today, DJW Bliss,” Trump said of Don James' parents and baby. “Don will live a wonderful, beautiful and successful life. Thanks to him, this will become a very important day as the years go by!”
On the day of the second major assassination attempt on Trump in September, Trump was playing golf with Witkoff, 67.
Within a week of his 2024 election victory, President Trump announced that he would appoint Witkoff as special envoy to the Middle East, working with his longtime friend to help respond to the region during a turbulent time.
Witkoff has already played the role of peacemaker during Trump's re-election campaign, reaching out to 2024 Republican candidate Nikki Haley to mend fences between Trump and Trump.
“His best friend Steve Witkoff came to our house in South Carolina and spoke to me and my husband and basically wanted a truce between me and Donald Trump,” Haley said last month. , on SiriusXM's “Nikki Haley Live.” .
“I told him at the time that we didn't need a ceasefire, that Trump supported it. There was no problem on my end. At that point, he said, 'What do you want? ”Please tell me what you want. Is there anything you want? 'I said, 'I don't want anything.' ”
Some outside observers and strategists believed at the time that Ms. Haley could help Mr. Trump shore up support among key voters, such as suburban women, where support had been weak. .
Witkoff, the founder and CEO of the real estate company Witkoff Group, donated to the Trump campaign during the 2024 campaign.
As for the Middle East, over the summer Mr. Witkoff praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress as “powerful” and “epic” and criticized the small number of Democrats who boycotted the speech.
President Trump is building his next administration with a strong ally of Israel, which is still fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Nominees from Israeli allies include Mike Huckabee, candidate for ambassador to Israel, and Elise Stefanik, candidate for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Elise Stefanik is a New York congresswoman who proudly defended Trump during her time in the House of Representatives.
Witkoff has already begun preparations for his new role as special envoy to the Middle East. He recently embarked on a visit to Saudi Arabia and met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday. Axios reports.
Don James Witkoff is not the only person named after the president-elect. His eldest son Donald Trump Jr. was also named after him.
