(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump is set to speak with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday for what is expected to be a heated, private meeting.
The meeting is expected to be much different from Trump’s recent sit-down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There will likely be no smiling photo op in the Oval Office nor a long, joint news conference — only closed-door conversations.
Trump is not backing down from his plans for the future of Gaza and is pressuring Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries to take in Palestinians. Arab leaders have strongly rejected Trump’s proposal, saying any plan to transfer Palestinians to their land would destabilize the region.
Arab, Muslim Americans blast Trump’s ‘grotesque’ Gaza proposal
The United Nations, human rights groups and some Democrats say Trump’s proposal amounts to ethnic cleansing. Jordan already has taken in more than 2 million Palestinian refugees — making up almost half the total number of Palestinian refugees as registered or recognized by U.N. agencies.
Still, Trump said he believes he can make a deal with Jordan and Egypt, offering them billions of dollars annually.
“I have spoken to various leaders of various countries in the not so, you know, distant area from where we’re talking about — the Gaza Strip,” Trump said this week. “And, I think they were very positive about providing land. What we need is land. And if we could build a nice place for people to live safely, everybody in Gaza would do it. “
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Egypt’s foreign minister on Monday and “reiterated the importance of close cooperation to advance post-conflict planning for the governance and security of Gaza,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
Rubio is expected to be at Trump’s meeting with Abdullah.
