Semafor Signals: Global insights into today’s biggest stories.
Couples use meetings to repair strained relationships
Associated Press, Reuters
The two men sought to repair ties that were fractured after the Israeli prime minister denied Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election. Netanyahu was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Biden on his victory, with Trump blasting him, saying “I wish Bibi had kept quiet… He made a terrible mistake.”
The two leaders “have a strong political interest in overcoming their differences,” the Associated Press reported, noting that Republicans want to demonstrate loyalty to U.S. allies and that Israel needs continued U.S. support. Trump denied any signs of tension during the meeting. “Our relationship is very good,” he said, adding, “I’ve treated Israel better than any president has ever treated them.”
President Trump’s plan to end the war is unclear
Trump has long criticized Biden’s response to Israel’s war on Gaza. Biden has said the war needs to end quickly but has not offered a clear view on how his administration will achieve that goal. Trump has said “conspicuously little” about the war since it began, according to The New York Times, adding that his “non-interventionist stance in the bloody Middle East conflict reflects the deep-seated anti-interventionist shift he has brought to the Republican Party.” Voters have complex views about the fighting but have not ranked it as a top issue, so talking more about the war is probably not in Trump’s best interest politically, Vox noted.
Harris has gone further than other US officials in publicly criticising Israel.
The Guardian, Semaphore, CNN
After meeting with Netanyahu on Thursday, Harris suggested she would not halt military aid to Israel to “always ensure that Israel can defend itself.” But she went further than other administration officials in criticizing Israel’s actions, telling Netanyahu she was “gravely concerned about the extent of human suffering in Gaza, including the deaths of too many innocent civilians.” The relatively forceful statement strengthened expectations among some Democrats that Biden, their presumptive presidential nominee, would take a tougher stance on Israel than his predecessor, at least in rhetoric. But Harris’s aides and allies insist there is no difference between her and Biden on the substantive aspects of foreign policy toward Israel.
