King Abdullah II of Jordan flattered and surprised President Donald Trump on Tuesday in a dance to deflect from the president’s Gaza takeover bid, which the monarch has publicly said he opposes.
Abdullah said he would, however, facilitate a move to take 2,000 children in Gaza “that are either cancer children or in a very ill state to Jordan as quickly as possible.”
Trump expressed astonishment and gratitude—and hope that the fig leaf would lead to broader Arab support for his controversial plan to have the U.S. “own” the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
“I didn’t know that, what you just said—2,000 children with cancer or other problems," Trump said, calling the Jordanian king’s small but significant announcement a “beautiful gesture.”
“It’s music to my ears,” Trump added during their face-to-face Oval Office sit down, his first meeting with a Middle East leader since returning to the White House.
Trump insisted, however, that the U.S. would be “in control” of the Gaza Strip and deport its estimated 2 million residents.
“The Palestinians, or the people that live now in Gaza, will be living beautifully in another location,” Trump said. “I believe we’ll have a parcel of land in Jordan. I believe we’ll have a parcel of land in Egypt. We may have someplace else, but I think when we finish our talks, we’ll have a place where they’re going to live very happily and very safely.”
Abdullah largely dodged questions from reporters in the Oval Office on the substance of Trump’s Gaza comments. Instead, he suggested Trump could go down in world history a hero.
“With all the challenges that we have in the Middle East, I finally see somebody who can take us across the finish line to bring stability, peace and prosperity to all of us in the region,” Abdullah said. “It is our collective responsibility in the Middle East to continue to work with you, to support you, to achieve those lofty goals.”
The cordial visit came a day after Trump threatened to withhold U.S. aid to Jordan—a total of $1 billion a year—unless it agreed to take in Palestinians who would be displaced under his Gaza takeover scheme, which he first floated last week during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
By Tuesday, seated next to the king of Jordan, Trump sang a different tune.
“We contribute a lot of money to Jordan and to Egypt, by the way. A lot to both,” he said. “But I don’t have to threaten that, I think we’re above that.”
