Netanyahu Arrives Diminished for 8th Trump Meeting — SkimNews
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- Netanyahu meets Trump at the Oval Office Tuesday for their eighth sit-down since Trump returned to office, but arrives weaker and less influential than the previous seven times, five months after the Feb. 28 war launch when their interests appeared aligned.
- Israel was largely in the dark about Trump's thinking during Friday's marathon cabinet talks, with the IDF preparing for the most extreme scenario — a return to major U.S. combat operations in Iran — before learning late Friday night that Trump had decided to hold fire.
- Trump told Axios he is still considering resuming a large-scale military campaign in Iran if negotiations fail, potentially as a joint U.S.-Israel operation similar to Operation Epic Fury at the war's outset.
- Netanyahu failed to persuade Trump not to move forward with the F-35 sale to Turkey; Trump publicly dismissed the objections, saying 'Nobody tells me what we should be selling or not' and noting Turkey 'is not a big fan of Israel... and not a big fan of Bibi.'
- Netanyahu was caught off guard by the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal signed last week, which lacked a provision requiring Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel — a long-standing Israeli demand — and Trump acknowledged he hadn't even discussed it with Saudi leaders.
- Vance and other senior U.S. officials have accused Netanyahu of making rosy predictions about the war that didn't pan out, with one senior official telling Axios, 'He'll come, he'll make his promises and then we'll have to check everything out.'
- Netanyahu faces an election in three months crucial to his political survival and personal freedom, yet Trump — asked four times in recent weeks — has withheld an endorsement, praising him only as a 'great wartime prime minister' in the past tense.
Why it matters: Netanyahu faces a three-month deadline with elections crucial to his political survival and personal freedom, yet Trump — asked four times — has withheld endorsement, praising him only in past tense. The Saudi nuclear deal heading to Congress without an Israeli normalization provision and the uncontested F-35 sale to Turkey show how visibly Netanyahu's leverage with Trump has eroded.
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