Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort Friday, marking the first time the pair have met face to face in nearly four years.
Trump slammed Vice President Kamala Harris, his likely Democratic opponent in the 2024 election, for her comments regarding Israel this week, in which she urged the prime minister to finalize a ceasefire deal quickly.
“I think her remarks were disrespectful,” Trump said during the meeting. “I actually don’t know how a person who is Jewish could vote for her. But that’s up to them. But she was certainly disrespectful to Israel, in my opinion.”
The meeting comes just one day after Harris met with Netanyahu, after which she gave an on-camera statement saying she pressed the prime minister to secure a ceasefire deal in exchange for the American hostages being held by Hamas. Netanyahu later reportedly warned that statement could endanger negotiations to finalize such a deal.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent,” Harris said Thursday of the civilian casualties in Gaza after skipping Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu serves as a test for whether the two can mend their relationship, which was damaged after Netanyahu became one of the first world leaders to congratulate President Joe Biden on his victory over Trump in 2020. The former president cut ties with the prime minister after that, telling an Israeli newspaper at the time the endorsement was a “terrible mistake.”
But for Netanyahu, the meeting was also crucial to repair ties as Trump could make a return to the White House next year — and oversee the supply of weapons and other forms of aid to Israel.
The Mar-a-Lago meeting concludes a weeklong visit to the United States for Netanyahu, his first trip abroad since the war broke out in Israel last October. Netanyahu arrived in the U.S. on Monday where he was greeted by Ofir Akunis, the Israeli general consul in New York.
Netanyahu later delivered a joint address to Congress on Wednesday, a speech that was boycotted by more than three dozen Democrats and ignited several protests surrounding the Capitol. In his 50-minute speech, Netanyahu made the case for U.S. support to Israel amid the war against the Hamas militant group and vowed to continue fighting until they reach “total victory.”
However, the prime minister also left the door open for a possible ceasefire under specific conditions.
Shortly before his speech, Netanyahu met with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and the two exchanged gifts and delivered short remarks to reporters. Netanyahu gifted Johnson with a sculpture depicting a dove flying over Israel, which was made of shrapnel gathered from Israel. Johnson gave the prime minister a collection of documents, including a letter written by Netanyahu’s father to former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
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Netanyahu then had separate meetings with Biden and Harris on Thursday, during which both U.S. leaders pressed the prime minister to negotiate a ceasefire deal in exchange for the release of the hostages. Trump has also urged Netanyahu to get the hostages released swiftly.
“We want our hostages back, and they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price,” Trump said during his speech at the Republican National Convention last week.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Harris’s office for comment.
