It is no secret that, in Donald Trump’s second turn, key policy portfolios for the U.S. have been divided based on the U.S. President’s personal preferences rather than the candidates’ institutional credibility or track record.
Influence, proximity and perceived deal-making ability determined who handled what.
This approach mirrors patterns from Trump’s first administration, when figures such as Jared Kushner, his son-in-law who oversaw Middle East diplomacy and the Abraham Accords, and Richard Grenell, who carried out informal diplomatic missions outside traditional State Department channels, were empowered largely through personal trust rather than institutional hierarchy.
The Middle East, by far the most consequential file, went to Steve Witkoff, a long-time Trump associate and confidant. North Africa, however, was folded into a broader Africa brief and handed to Massad Boulos, Trump’s Senior Advisor for Africa.
Boulos, a Lebanese-American businessman and the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, emerged during the 2024 campaign as a key intermediary between the Trump orbit and several Middle Eastern and African political networks.
From the beginning, this division of labour created friction between the two men.
Officials describe a quiet but persistent competition between Boulos and Witkoff over control of the North Africa file, with both viewing it as one of the few areas where rapid diplomatic wins were realistically achievable.
North Africa and its immediate neighbourhood, stretching from Libya and Sudan to Algeria and Morocco, was seen inside Trump’s orbit as fertile ground: unresolved conflicts, transactional leaderships and governments open to U.S. backing in exchange for political and economic incentives.
A year on, that calculation is being reassessed.
