WASHINGTON — King Abdullah II of Jordan visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, where the Jordanian king agreed to accept refugees into his country.
The meeting comes after Trump made repeated demands for Jordan and Egypt to take in refugees, despite both countries declining. Trump and Abdullah met to discuss issues including Trump’s Gaza proposal, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ISIS and al-Qaeda, and economic cooperation.
The king and crown prince of Jordan arrived at the White House around noon Tuesday afternoon, where they both attended a bilateral meeting and lunch with the president. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attended the meeting — the first official encounter between the King of Jordan and the President of the United States since Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire.
Trump greeted Abdullah outside the White House on Tuesday. After the king was met by the White House honor guard, Trump said of Abdullah, “He’s a great man.”
The president took one brief question from the assembled press as he greeted Abdullah outside the White House: a reporter shouted a question asking whether Saturday is still Trump’s deadline for Hamas, and Trump responded, “Yes.”
During the meeting, Abdullah expressed delight at being able to meet with Trump so soon after the president’s inauguration.
“Mr. President, I truly believe with all of the challenges that we have in the Middle East, I finally see somebody that can take us across the finish line that can bring stability and peace and prosperity to all of us in the region,” Abdullah said. “I think it is our collective responsibility in the Middle East to continue to work with you and to support you.”
(Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
King Abdullah said he is open to coming up with solutions that serve the interests of all parties.
“I think the point is how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody. Obviously, we have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, and especially my people of Jordan.”
Abdullah offered to take 2,000 sick children from the Gaza Strip almost immediately.
Trump called the gesture “beautiful.”
“We really appreciate it,” Trump said. “It’s music to my ears.”
King Abdullah said he wants to wait for the Egyptians to present their plan on how to address the challenges in Gaza.
Trump said he believes there is a 99% chance he will work something out with Egypt. The president previously threatened to withhold aid to the two countries unless a deal could be made, but backed down during the meeting, stating “I do think we’re above that.”
Trump doubled down on his plan to have Gazans leave their homes and resettle somewhere outside Hamas rule. He added the United States will not buy Gaza, but will “have it.”
“Nobody is going to question it,” he said. “We’re going to run it very properly and eventually we will have economic development on a very large scale. Maybe the largest scale on that site.”
The president said developments will include hotels, office buildings, and housing.
Trump also addressed his Saturday deadline for Hamas to return all hostages, saying that he thinks the terror group will fail to meet his demands.“They want to play tough guy, but we’ll see how tough they are,” Trump said.
Trump called the terror group bullies, adding that bullies are typically “the weakest person.”
On Saturday, Trump said he was losing patience with Hamas following the return of three Israeli hostages who were in dangerously poor health.
“I watched the hostages return today, and they looked like Holocaust survivors,” Trump said. “They were in horrible condition, emaciated. It looked like many years ago, the Holocaust survivors. I don’t know how much longer we can take that.”
“At some point, we are going to lose our patience,” Trump added. “When I see that scene that I saw today of people coming out of helicopters and airplanes that are emaciated, that look like they haven’t had a meal in a month, there’s no reason for that, and I don’t know how much longer we can take it.”
Abdullah met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday ahead of his meeting with the president. On Monday, he met with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and attended a roundtable meeting with representatives of companies and institutions from Massachusetts hosted by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey.
