'At the request of Bibi': Trump and Netanyahu to meet Friday in Florida

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday and his predecessor Donald Trump at his Palm Beach resort in Florida on Friday.

The visits are part of Netanyahu’s trip to the United States which began Monday night – including a joint address to Congress on Wednesday – which may now extend to over the weekend.

Trump, who is the Republican presidential candidate running for his second term in office, had first invited Netanyahu to meet with him on Wednesday, then switched it to Thursday.

He then wrote on his Truth Social website that he had moved the meeting date to Friday at Netanyahu’s request. It was a statement that irked the prime minister’s opponents, who noted that a Friday meeting would necessitate an extended stay in the United States through Shabbat during wartime when he should be pushing to return to Israel as quickly as possible.

The Prime Minister’s Office responded that a Netanyahu meeting with both the leading candidates for the US Presidency was important. 

His meeting with Biden is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday and the one with the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is set for later in the afternoon, leaving Friday as the only option, it explained.

“Since it is not possible to fly on Shabbat, the delegation will return to Israel immediately at the end of Shabbat.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “During my first term we had Peace and Stability in the Region, even signing the historic Abraham Accords – And we will have it again.” His words referenced his record as president from 2017-2021, in which he secured an agreement from four Arab countries to normalize ties with Israel.

“Just as I have said in discussions with [Ukrainian] President Volodymyr Zelensky and other World Leaders in recent weeks, my PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH Agenda will demonstrate to the World that these horrible deadly wars and violent Conflicts must end,” he wrote.

“Millions are dying and Kamala Harris is in no way capable of stopping it,” he added.

Netanyahu has a strong relationship with both Trump and Biden, the latter running deeper, going back over four decades but it has also been fraught with discord, particularly over Iran, the Gaza war, and the prime minister’s judicial reform program.

Talks with religious leaders

Netanyahu is also set to hold separate meetings with Evangelicals and Jewish leaders in Washington on Tuesday night.He arrived in Washington during a tumultuous week that saw Biden withdrawing from the presidential race, a step that made Harris the presumptive Democratic candidate.

She will be campaigning in Indiana on Wednesday and, in an unusual way, will not be present for Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.

Traditionally, the vice president presides over that event. Her role will be filled by Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, who heads the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, who as president pro tempore (for the time being) normally would preside in the absence of Harris.

But an aide to Murray said she was not attending. Her aides did not immediately respond when asked why.

Netanyahu’s visit to Washington to address Congress was orchestrated by the legislature’s Republican leaders, who have accused Biden, a Democrat, of showing insufficient support for Israel, despite the billions of dollars in US assistance sent during its war in Gaza.

Reuters contributed to this report.