Trump huddles with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago

PALM BEACH, Fla. - Former President Donald Trump stood on the steps of his Mar-a-Lago Club in South Florida on Friday to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the pair's first meeting since Trump left the White House in 2021.

Trump posted a video to his Truth Social account of himself smiling and greeting Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, after their motorcade made its way onto Palm Beach island just before noon Friday. Netanyahu stayed for roughly two hours, leaving Palm Beach at about 2 p.m. ET.

During the meeting, Netanyahu thanked Trump and his former administration "for working to promote stability in the region through, among many historic achievements, the Abraham Accords, moving the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, eliminating Qasem Soleimani, ending the horrific Iran Nuclear Deal, as well as combatting anti-Semitism in America and abroad," Trump's campaign said in a news release.

Trump in turn shared his solidarity with Netanyahu in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel. Trump "pledged that when he returns to the White House, he will make every effort to bring Peace to the Middle East and combat anti-Semitism from spreading throughout college campuses across the United States," his campaign said.

Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, his presumed opponent in the Nov. 5 general election, who had voiced concern in public comments after meeting Netanyahu about the toll on Palestinian civilians from Israel's 9-month-old campaign in Gaza.

"I think her remarks were disrespectful," Trump said.

Netanyahu said he hoped his U.S. trip would lead to a quicker cease-fire deal.

"I hope so. But I think time will tell," he told reporters. He said he thought there had been movement in efforts to forge a cease-fire because of Israeli military pressure and said he would dispatch a team to talks in Rome.

While it had been expected that Netanyahu would arrive at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, his plane instead landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport about 10:30 a.m., according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

His motorcade traveled up Florida's Turnpike to Southern Boulevard, and then east to Mar-a-Lago where his meeting with the 2024 Republican nominee for president began about noon. Netanyahu arrived in South Florida from Washington, where he spoke to Congress on Wednesday and met with President Joe Biden and Harris on Thursday.

Law enforcement agencies closed roads along Southern Boulevard as they escorted Netanyahu to and from his meeting with Trump.

Netanyahu's office told Israeli media earlier in the week that Netanyahu will remain in the U.S. through the Sabbath before returning to Israel.

Protesters opposed to Netanyahu and the war in Palestine carried signs and shouted anti-Israel and anti-police chants as they stood on the Southern Boulevard Bridge on Friday morning. A group called Shut Down Elbit South Florida shared a press release and told a Palm Beach Daily News reporter that they want to arrest Netanyahu.

"I'm Jewish, there's other Jewish people present," said one organizer, who declined to give her name and said the group has been painted as terrorists by news outlets. "There's plenty of Jews who don't support committing genocide in Palestine. Zionism is a political ideology separate from Judaism."

She said she believes about 50 percent of Jewish people in the U.S. do not support what's happening in Palestine. "That's why we're out here, to protest the person doing it, and tell him he's not welcome in the state of Florida," she said.

Supporters of Trump and Netanyahu also gathered near the bridge, with Israel and U.S. flags and signs that read, "Shalom Bibi," and, "I Stand With Israel."

"I stand with Israel, I stand with peace and I stand against this," Jax Mcanulty, a British citizen, said of the group of pro-Palestine supporters on the opposite side of the bridge from where she stood.

The number of Trump and Netanyahu supporters increased notably around noon, bolstered by a group of Palm Beach County-based Trump supporters who regularly demonstrate on the Southern Boulevard Bridge. They included Boynton Beach resident Debbi Macchia, who called the pro-Palestinian protesters "terrorists."

At one point, she and a man holding a Gadsden flag interrupted a civil conversation between pro-Palestinian protester Gibson Lopez and pro-Israeli counterprotester Cindy Falco-DiCorrado by lobbing derogatory and anti-Muslim comments.

After several minutes, Lopez moved to the other side of the bridge after law enforcement officers intervened. Falco-DiCorrado patted his back and thanked him for the discussion as he walked away.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Thursday that several law enforcement agencies — including the Florida Highway Patrol, Martin County Sheriff's Office and Broward Sheriff's Office — would assist with security for Netanyahu's visit.

Several international leaders traveled to Mar-a-Lago when Trump was president, including the late Shinzo Abe of Japan and Xi Jinping, president of China. During those visits, dozens of law enforcement officers were present around Mar-a-Lago and along the stretch of Southern Boulevard between Palm Beach International Airport and Trump's estate.

The sheriff's office also had boats in the water around Mar-a-Lago. The estate is essentially a fishbowl, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Intracoastal Waterway to the west, busy Southern Boulevard to the south and Palm Beach's Estate Section to the north.

Protesters were allowed to gather on the Southern Boulevard Bridge, but pedestrians were not allowed east past the smaller bridge on the causeway between West Palm Beach and Palm Beach.

The U.S. Secret Service has increased security around Mar-a-Lago since an assassination attempt on Trump during a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Trump's ear was injured, and three people in the crowd were shot, one of whom died. The Secret Service shot and killed the shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa.

Among the enhanced security measures: South Ocean Boulevard is now closed near Mar-a-Lago, from the Southern Boulevard traffic circle north to the intersection with South County Road. That change took effect July 20. Palm Beach officials are challenging the Secret Service's decision to close the road, suggesting that the road could be open when no protectees are at Mar-a-Lago.

Reuters contributed to this report.