Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with former President Donald Trump on Friday at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, sharing a warm handshake and discussing efforts to free the remaining Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.
Trump greeted Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, with a kiss at the front door, the latest sign of a thaw in relations between the two men.
Trump and Netanyahu worked well together during Trump’s time in office, but Trump was upset by Netanyahu’s decision to congratulate President Joe Biden on his victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Netanyahu presented President Trump with a portrait of Ariel Bibas, one of two red-headed children abducted by Hamas on October 7, and his mother (his father was kidnapped separately). The children are believed to be alive.
The two men met the day after Vice President Kamala Harris caused controversy by criticizing Israel over the humanitarian suffering in Gaza and offering her own ceasefire proposal, infuriating Israeli negotiators.
Asked by reporters at Mar-a-Lago whether Harris’ comments had hurt prospects for a deal, Netanyahu said he hoped not.
Trump was more aggressive about his new rival: “I have no idea how Jews could vote for her, but that’s up to them,” he said, adding that she was a left-wing extremist who “destroyed San Francisco.”
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
