Netanyahu is about to find out how far Trump will bend to his will
But it will also come with trickier talks about a ceasefire in Gaza, and what comes next in the Middle East.
Those two strands illustrate the complex relationship between an America First president and an Israeli ally worried about how Mr Trump has gone it alone when it has suited him.
When Mr Trump welcomes Mr Netanyahu into the Oval Office, he will know the Israeli prime minister holds the key to unlocking his grand vision for the Middle East.
A normalisation deal between the Jewish state and Saudi Arabia is the great unfinished business of the Abraham Accords brokered in his first term, which saw Israel establish diplomatic links with the UAE, Bahrain and others.
Mohammed Bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, has made it clear that there can be no hope of that until the war is ended and, at the very least, the Palestinian people are put on a meaningful path to statehood.
At times, the delicate balancing act Mr Trump must perform – supporting Israel, while being mindful of the views of America's Arab allies – has generated headlines about rifts over bombing Iran or the need to end the war in Gaza.
But insiders say the relationship – between two men who see themselves in each other, and have sometimes used misdirection to hide their mutual plans – is closer than you think.
'Netanyahu, you know, he's sort of like Trump,' said a source close to the White House describing Mr Trump's view of their connection. 'He's disliked, hated by a lot of people, but he wins.'
Rollercoaster of highs and lows
The low point in their relationship came after the 2020 election, he added, when Mr Netanyahu congratulated Joe Biden on his victory.
'I haven't spoken to him since. F--- him,' Mr Trump was quoted as saying at the time.
Yet Mr Netanyahu now holds a privileged place. He is making his third visit to the White House in less than six months.
Top of the agenda will be what comes next in stifling Iran's nuclear programme and a deal to release the last hostages held by Hamas.
Mr Trump has ramped up expectations of a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, although a source said the meeting on Monday was being 'low keyed', without high hopes of a major breakthrough.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
21 minutes ago
- NBC News
White House extends deadline for tougher tariffs
President Trump is slated to sign an executive order to delay Wednesday's deadline until August 1. The tariff rates were initially set in April. Meanwhile, Trump is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as there's a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza. NBC News' Gabe Gutierrez reports from the White 8, 2025
Times
31 minutes ago
- Times
Jeffrey Epstein victim's diary ‘contradicts' FBI blackmail claims
The Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre claimed in her diary that the sex offender taped her being 'abused by other men' to use for blackmail, seemingly contradicting a memorandum by the FBI and the justice department. The memo, published on Monday, stated that there was 'no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions'. Giuffre, who died by suicide at her home in Perth, Australia, in April, had left behind a diary of her final months, which her family shared with The Times to tell the 'full story' of her life. • What really happened to Virginia Giuffre? 'I used to be watched by Epstein's hidden cameras, which I have seen myself,' she wrote in one undated entry. 'The FBI have the archive footage showing me being abused by other men, used as blackmail.' Virginia Giuffre's diary entry on the tapes President Trump's justice department and the FBI, which had promised 'complete transparency' on the Epstein case, concluded on Monday that they found no evidence that the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier blackmailed powerful figures, kept a 'client list' or was murdered. Giuffre became Epstein's most prominent accuser, winning multiple lawsuits against him and his estate for sexual abuse and trafficking. Questions have been asked about what was recovered from FBI raids on Epstein's various homes after his arrest in 2019. Giuffre took her own life in April EMILY MICHOT/MIAMI HERALD/TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE/GETTY IMAGES Large black binders holding labelled CDs, as well as hard drives, were discovered in several rooms in his eight-storey Upper East Side apartment in Manhattan, including in a so-called massage room. Federal prosecutors said CDs found in a safe featured sexual photographs of women and under-age girls. • Maga backlash over 'botched' Jeffrey Epstein investigation Investigators were reported to have found multiple hidden cameras in Epstein's properties, including in his Manhattan townhouse and his private island, Little Saint James, in the US Virgin Islands. At least one other victim, the Briton Sarah Ransome, has claimed that Epstein secretly filmed sexual encounters between victims and high-profile figures to use for blackmail.
Glasgow Times
32 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Trump announces 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea
The tariffs are set to go into effect on August 1. Mr Trump provided notice by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of the various countries. US President Donald Trump waves to the media after exiting Air Force One (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) The letters warned them to not retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, or else the Trump administration would further increase tariffs. 'If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25% that we charge,' Mr Trump wrote in the letters to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. The letters were not the final word from Mr Trump on tariffs, so much as another episode in a global economic drama in which he has placed himself at the centre. His moves have raised fears that economic growth would slow to a trickle, if not make the US and other nations more vulnerable to a recession. But Mr Trump is confident that tariffs are necessary to bring back domestic manufacturing and fund the tax cuts he signed into law last Friday. He mixed his sense of aggression with a willingness to still negotiate, signalling the likelihood that the drama and uncertainty would continue and that few things are ever final with Mr Trump. Imports from Myanmar and Laos would be taxed at 40%, South Africa at 30% and Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Tunisia at 25%. Shoppers browse electric rice cookers imported from Japan and South Korea at a US department store (Nam Y Huh/AP) Mr Trump placed the word 'only' before revealing the rate in his letters to the foreign leaders, implying that he was being generous with his tariffs. Mr Trump still has outstanding differences on trade with the European Union and India, among other trading partners. Tougher talks with China are on a longer time horizon in which imports from that nation are being taxed at 55%.
