Trump invites Netanyahu to White House for seventh time despite political risks
Joseph Stepansky / Al Jazeera English
President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, their first in-person meeting since jointly launching the war with Iran in February. The visit comes as American public opinion grows more skeptical of the conflict and support for Israel wanes, even within Trump's Republican Party.
Washington, DC – President Donald Trump is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House for the seventh time of his second term, despite the political risks of holding a high-profile meeting with a leader whose popularity is waning amid the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran.
The face-to-face meeting on Tuesday will be their first since they jointly launched the war on February 28, a turning point that has deepened the American public's pre-existing wariness toward Israel, increasingly visible in parts of Trump's own Republican Party.
The meeting was announced late last week, as Netanyahu was already planning to travel to Washington for the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Israel's staunchest congressional allies.
"There hasn't been any visit by Netanyahu since the war started, perhaps because the campaign quickly turned into such a disaster that having Netanyahu come here becomes a bad image," Andrew Day, senior editor at The American Conservative, told Al Jazeera.
A series of recent polls show growing Republican disagreement with US policy toward Israel, though still less than among Democrats. Notably, a Politico poll released last week found that only one-third of voters who identify with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement — the group most unconditionally supportive of Trump — believe the economic cost of the war with Iran has been worth it.
"I don't think Trump perceives the risks personally, though they certainly exist," Day said.
Pushing for new diplomacy
The timing of Tuesday's meeting is particularly notable as Trump on Monday signaled that Washington is pursuing a new diplomatic initiative with Iran. This follows the collapse of the June 17 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran, leading to 13 consecutive days of escalating conflict. The fighting has been paused for three days.
Netanyahu's government vehemently opposed the MoU. Israel continues to push for broader regime change and an uncompromising policy toward Iran's nuclear program, contrasting with the recent direction of the Trump administration, which is seeking exits and hoping to frame the conflict as a victory.
In June, Israeli operations in Lebanon threatened to derail the MoU, drawing a rare rebuke from Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump again highlighted the unequal relationship: "Frankly, we're being very kind to many countries that wouldn't survive without us. And you know who wouldn't survive without us? That's Israel." However, such criticism has not yet translated into policy change.
"Until now, there hasn't been any visit by Netanyahu to the White House during the war, perhaps because the campaign quickly turned into such a disaster that having Netanyahu come here becomes a bad image," Andrew Day, senior editor at The American Conservative, told Al Jazeera.
Netanyahu aims for election boost
Compared to Trump, the benefits of an Oval Office meeting are clearer for Netanyahu, according to Michael Omer-Man, director of Israel-Palestine at advocacy group DAWN. Any meeting with the US president can boost Netanyahu's standing ahead of Israel's election tentatively scheduled for October.
"Every opportunity for him to have a photo-op with Trump, the most powerful person in the world, is a personal political benefit for him," Omer-Man said. "He wants to emphasize his relationship with Trump, and he will argue that he is the only one who knows how to deal with the US and the only one with a relationship with Trump."
Yet Omer-Man suggests the meeting could backfire. Trump may pressure Netanyahu over a US-brokered deal between Lebanon and Israel aimed at a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon but appearing to allow the Israeli military to occupy the area almost indefinitely. He could also press the 20-point "peace plan" Trump endorsed for Gaza, where near-daily Israeli violations of the "ceasefire" occur.
The meeting also takes place amid a violent settler surge in the occupied West Bank. Human rights groups have long argued that this violence is not an isolated incident but part of a deliberate government strategy. "That could be the hidden card here," Omer-Man said. "This is the one issue that transcends all party lines in American politics in recent years."
