President Trump will give remarks Thursday afternoon after touring the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas. The event comes less than a day after Trump headlined the first night of the GOP midterm convention in Dallas. During his speech, he pledged $5,000 dividend checks to Americans if Republicans maintain control of both chambers of Congress after November. The vow has garnered skepticism. The president is also expected to close out the second day of the convention on Thursday night following Vice President Vance's keynote address. His afternoon remarks are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
White House officials were surprised in recent days to read in the Israeli press that President Trump would host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. - In fact, no meeting has been scheduled. Why it matters: Netanyahu has visited the Oval Office six times since Trump returned to office a year-and-a-half ago — more than any other world leader. Each of those meetings was scheduled within a matter of hours or days. This time, Netanyahu has been trying to get an appointment for more than two weeks. - The fact that Trump isn't rushing to sit down with Netanyahu in front of the cameras signals not only the divergence of interests between the two, but also how disillusioned the White House is with the Israeli leader five months after…
The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by another three weeks, President Trump said after hosting the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in the Oval Office on Thursday. Why it matters: The U.S. wants to extend the Lebanon ceasefire for two reasons: to advance direct Israel-Lebanon peace talks and to prevent renewed fighting from undermining its effort to reach a deal with Iran. Driving the news: Trump announced the initial 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon last week. - The U.S. has been pressing for an extended ceasefire while working in parallel on a potential peace deal with Iran. - While the two tracks are officially separate, Iran claims ongoing Israeli attacks in Lebanon constitute a violation of its…
