Trump looks for a deal on his Gaza plan as he meets with Jordan’s King Abdullah
CNN
Like most of President Donald Trump’s meetings these days, Tuesday’s talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II will revolve around making a deal — at least in the president’s mind.
Like most of President Donald Trump’s meetings these days, Tuesday’s talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II will revolve around making a deal — at least in the president’s mind. A week after proposing a brazen new plan to seize control of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” Trump appears intent on negotiating his farfetched plan into reality. “I’m talking about starting to build,” Trump said over the weekend, “and I think I could make a deal with Jordan. I think I could make a deal with Egypt.” In this case, the deal he’s envisioning would apparently involve Jordan and Egypt accepting millions of new Palestinian refugees — over their consistent objections — so Trump can clear the rubble from the demolished Gaza Strip, construct new glass towers with Mediterranean views and invite “the world’s people” to move in. As leverage, Trump is wielding the billions of dollars in American assistance provided to Jordan and Egypt every year, without which those countries could face dire financial problems. “Yeah, maybe, sure why not?” Trump responded in the Oval Office on Monday evening when asked if he would hold back American aid to Jordan and Egypt. “If they don’t, I would conceivably withhold aid, yes.”
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