It’s hard to know whether the three-hour meeting, which went much longer than planned, was filled with consensus. Yet with Netanyahu and Trump, public appearances may be intentional projections designed to camouflage future intentions.
On the face of it, it may appear that the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t go as well as the latter may have hoped.
Netanyahu was not greeted at the West Wing entrance by Trump in front of waiting cameras, as he had been before. There were no pre-meeting or post-meeting press opportunities. Typically, such pressers are loaded with big grins and mutual platitudes, in addition to substance.
And it’s hard to know whether the three-hour meeting, which went much longer than planned, was filled with consensus. Yet with these two leaders, public appearances may be intentional projections designed to camouflage future intentions. Similarly, as they did just before the 12-day war last summer, Trump and Netanyahu may have agreed on a set timetable for negotiations, after which a military option can be initiated. Iran is likely now on the clock to make a deal.