Trump meets Netanyahu and says they have always had a good relationship

Former U.S. President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday. At the end of the meeting, he said he has always had a good relationship with Netanyahu.

The two met a day after the Israeli prime minister met in Washington with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee and therefore Trump’s rival in the November election.

Trump, who gave a warm welcome to Netanyahu and his wife, Sarah, in Florida, later criticized Harris, who expressed “grave concern” to Netanyahu during their meeting on Thursday about the high number of civilian casualties from Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip. “I thought her comments were disrespectful,” Trump said.

Netanyahu hopes his trip to the United States will lead to a quicker ceasefire agreement. “I hope so. But I think time will tell,” he told reporters.

He also said he believed the progress in ceasefire talks was due to Israeli military pressure.

Trump denied there were any tensions in his relationship with the Israeli prime minister. “We have a very good relationship,” he said, pointing to policy changes regarding Israel that occurred during his presidency. These included moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or the US withdrawal from the international nuclear deal with Iran.

In a speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu thanked Trump for all he has done for Israel. “I also want to thank President Trump for everything he has done for Israel — from recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights to confronting Iranian aggression to recognizing Jerusalem as our capital and moving the American embassy there,” he said.

Reuters reminds that Netanyahu angered Trump by congratulating Biden, who defeated him, on his victory after the 2020 election. To this day, Trump still disputes the election results, claiming that there was fraud in the vote.

At the same time, the former US president criticized Netanyahu for the failures of Israel’s security forces, which he believed enabled the Palestinian militant movement Hamas to launch an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which Israel condemned and responded by launching an offensive on Gaza.