King Abdullah II appeared open in public to Trump’s diabolical plan to force 2 million Palestinians out of Gaza but later said on X that in private he had rebuffed the president. Joe Lauria reports.
Trump greeting King Abdullah at the White House on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (White House/Wikimedia Commons)
By Joe Lauria
Special to Consortium News
After King Abdullah II of Jordan left the White House on Tuesday with the impression he was open to President Donald Trump’s idea to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians, the king took to X to say he had instead categorically rejected the idea in private with Trump.
“I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank,” Abdullah wrote. “This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all.”
The king said:
“Achieving just peace on the basis of the two-state solution is the way to ensure regional stability. This requires US leadership. President Trump is a man of peace. He was instrumental in securing the Gaza ceasefire. We look to US and all stakeholders in ensuring it holds.”
Demurred in Public
But during his opening remarks in the Oval Office earlier on Tuesday, before his substantial talks with Trump, Abdullah displayed extreme deference to the president in the face of pressure to participate in an historic crime which could destroy his throne.
A look of extreme discomfort came over his face as the king said before the cameras:
“With all of the challenges in the Middle East we can finally see somebody who can take us across the finish line to bring stability, peace and prosperity to all of us in the region. It is our collective responsibility in the Middle East to continue to work with you, to support you to achieve those lofty goals.”
Abdullah knew very well what Trump’s goals are and they are the opposite of lofty, namely to achieve an historic crime in the bloodied Middle East of expelling 2 million people from their land. And then constructing a playground for the rich over the unmarked graves of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
Abdullah knew going into the White House meeting he would be humiliated if he did not stand up to the bully threatening to commit this crime and to drag him into it.
Trump had threatened in an offhand remark to a reporter on Monday that he would be willing to cut off aid to Jordan if it did not agree to accept some of the 2 million Palestinians Trump wants to throw out of Gaza with Israel’s help to build a resort over an active crime scene.
The International Court of Justice is adjudicating whether Israel has already committed genocide in Gaza.
If Trump follows through with his intentions, a brave nation could come forward to put the United States in the dock next to Israel. The International Criminal Court could add Donald Trump’s name to the indictment and arrest warrant it issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC has jurisdiction over the crime of forced relocation.
Threats
The aid to Jordan Trump threatened to cut off is only 4 percent of the country’s GDP. But as The New York Times helpfully pointed out on Tuesday, there is also a secret U.S. budget supporting Jordan’s intelligence services.
Who knows what other threats Trump may have suggested over lunch at the presidential mansion with Abdullah and his son Hussein, the crown prince. At a press encounter before their private talk, it seemed that a king could not have bowed any lower before a president.
The press was let into the Oval Office apparently without the monarch’s foreknowledge, which the Times suggested was another Trump tactic to humiliate him before the cameras.
Trump was pointedly asked why the king should take in the Palestinian people when he had said he didn’t want to. “Well, I don’t know. But he may have just something to say because we discussed, just briefly, I think maybe you want to say it now or …? Trump said, putting him on the spot.
Abdullah stuttered, closed his eyes and said:
“Well, Mr. President, I think, we have to keep in mind that there is a plan from Egypt and the Arab countries. We’ve been invited by Mohammed bin Salman to discussions in Riyadh.
I think the point is, how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody. Obviously we have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, especially to my people of Jordan.
And we’re going to have some interesting discussions today. I think one of the things that we can do right away, is take 2000 children that are either cancer children or in, very, ill state, to Jordan as quickly as possible.
And then wait for, I think, the Egyptians to present their plan on how we can work with the president on the kind of challenges ….”
It seemed an elaborate kicking of the can down the road until he could get out of Washington. It was definitely not a “No” until at least the Arab delegation arrived in Washington. It seemed at the time like a door left open, which Trump walked through, responding,
“That’s really good. And we appreciate it. And we’ll be working on the rest with Egypt, I think you’re going to see some great progress. I think with Jordan, you’re going to see some great progress, three of us, and we’ll have some others helping, and we’re going to have some others at a very high level helping, and the whole thing will come.
It’s not a complex thing to do. And with the United States being in control of that piece of land, a fairly large piece of land, you’re going to have stability in the Middle East for the first time. And, the Palestinians or the people that live now in Gaza will be living beautifully in another location. They’re going to be living safely.”
Trump apparently thought he heard Abdullah say, “Yes.” The king uttered nothing when Trump said “with the United States being in control of that, piece of land…”
Later Trump said, “I believe we will have a parcel of land in Jordan…” for the expelled Palestinians to live on “when we finish our talks.” Again Abdullah said nothing.
Trump sees himself as a savior. Once the Palestinians are ethnically cleansed from Gaza they won’t be “living in hell, and they’re going to end up having a a great home, great families that don’t have to get mugged and killed and beaten up and harassed by Hamas and everybody else,” he said.
But who is “everybody else?” Mustn’t he know that he is covering up Israel’s indiscriminate mass murder since October 2023? “A civilization has been wiped out in Gaza,” he stated, but he dare not say by whom.
By excising from the story that Israel has made their lives hell, that Israel has created the “demolition site,” that Israel has killed so many innocent people, Trump seeks to reduce criticism of Israel to antisemitism.
His mention of “muggings,” makes it seem as though he’s still talking about the Central Park jogger. Instead, Trump is hitting upon a nauseating theme repeated often by American politicians referring to Israelis living in a “tough neighborhood” in the Middle East surrounded by Arabs, a thinly veiled racist analogy to American ghettos.
Trump, the former slumlord, with zero historical knowledge, sees the Palestinians as slum dwellers subject to muggings, not victims of a genocide.
Exuding Arrogance
U.S. President Donald Trump announcing his plan for the U.S. to take over Gaza on Feb. 4, 2024 at the White House, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking on. (The White House, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Not knowing what Abdullah would tell him in private, Trump said he was 99 percent certain he will work something out with Jordan and Egypt without having to withhold aid.
A reporter asked Trump how he knows Palestinians want to leave their land and then confronted him with the fact that “some people call this ethnic cleansing.” All Trump could say was: “They will have new homes where they can live safely.”
The king was asked what he thought about the U.S. owning the Gaza Strip. At this point, he did not dismiss the idea, saying:
“Well, I think as I said earlier, the president is looking at Egypt coming to present their plan. As I said, we will be in Saudi Arabia to discuss how we can work with the president and with the United States. So I think let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president and not get ahead of ourselves.”
The response to Trump would be from a “multitude of countries,” Abdullah said, hiding the fact that he would deliver Jordan’s response once they got behind closed doors.
Asked about Jordanian land for the Palestinians, Abdullah said, “Well, I think what we said is I have to look at it to the best interests of my country. .. And again, I believe that the president is looking forward to getting a group of us Arabs up here to discuss the overall plan.”
A reporter persisted with Trump, asking him whether he would be willing to change his mind if he is presented with a different plan. Not knowing what was to come from Abdullah, Trump said:
“I think we sort of have gone down the line. We know pretty much what is going to be presented and I think it’s going to be something that’s going to be magnificent for the Palestinians. They’re going to be in love with it. I did very well with real estate. I can tell you about real estate.”
“Mr. President, doesn’t it concern you that moving 2 million people –,” a reporter began but was cut off by Trump.
“It’s a very small number of people relative to other things that have taken place over the decades and centuries,” Trump actually said. “It’s a very small number of people, and they’re living a terrible life. Look at the way they’re living now.”
“But if they don’t want to leave, how are you going to force them?” the reporter persisted.
“Oh, they’re going to be great,” Trump said. “They’re going to be very happy.”
The magnitude of the crime he is proposing is blocked from his mind as he returns robotically to how horribly “these people” live and how he is going to help them.
What Will Trump Do Now?
Abdullah’s fake out in public leaves Trump in a tough spot. The Egyptian foreign ministry put out a statement on X about three hours after Abdullah’s post. It says:
“Egypt affirms its intention to present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in a manner that ensures the Palestinian people remain in their homeland and aligns with their legitimate and legal rights.”
Trump said in the Oval Office before the private meeting that other countries, like Indonesia, might take Palestinians in. “There’s a lot of countries with big hearts, and this gentleman is at the top of the list,” he said pointing at Abdullah, not knowing what he was about to hear.
Trump may have been trying to humiliate Abdullah but in the end it was Trump who is holding the short end. However, his determination is not to be underestimated, nor his vindictiveness. He may indeed move towards cutting off aid and finding other countries.
Nazi Germany had several ideas about where to send all the Jews and in the end history knows their solution. Many thousands have already been killed in Gaza. And not by muggers.
More War First
Israeli soldiers in eastern Rafah in Gaza, May 2024. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
That leaves more war. Before Trump can find a home for the Palestinians, clear the rubble and start building he has to get Israel to overthrow Hamas by force, something Israel has so far failed to do after 15 months.
It is almost certain now that Israel will resume the onslaught against Gaza after Trump’s Saturday deadline backed by Netanyahu passes for Hamas to release all the Israeli hostages at once, something that’s not part of the ceasefire deal.
“I don’t think they are going to make the deadline, personally,” Trump said. “I think they want to play tough guy.” In other words, Trump expects Israeli bombardments to renew as soon as this weekend.
Once the “fighting is over,” he said previously, Israel will “turn over” Gaza to the U.S. “We don’t have to buy it,” he said Tuesday. “There’s nothing to buy. Will just have it.”
Under what authority could the U.S. just “have it?” a reporter asked. “Under U.S. authority” was Trump’s answer, one worthy of Nero.
Asked how he feels about the U.S. taking Gaza, Abdullah responded: “As the president said, we as Arabs will be coming the United States, with something that we’re going to talk about later, to discuss all these options.” Abdullah remained stone-faced when Trump said his Gaza plan would bring jobs to Jordan. Of course “later” meant right after the press event in the private dining room.
The West Bank
Separation wall between Israel and Palestine, from Anata in the Occupied West Bank, 2005. (Photo by Dafna Kaplan via David Lisbona, Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
Trump was also asked if he could give the king a guarantee that he would not allow Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. Trump gave a lesson in evasion instead. He said,
“I think that’s going to work out very well. That’s not really what we were talking about today, it’s something that is going to work out automatically. And it’s in good shape and other people have discussed it with us and with me. That’s gonna work out. West Bank is going to work out very well.”
In other words, no. He’s discussed this with Israel and his major donor Miriam Adelson and the West Bank is gonna work out very well for them, if they get their way.
In his X post afterward, Abdullah wrote:
“I also stressed the importance of working towards de-escalation in the West Bank and preventing a deterioration of the situation there that could have far-reaching implications for the entire region.”
The territory was administered by Jordan until the 1967 war when Israel seized the West Bank and has refused ever since to relinquish it, despite the demand of the U.N. Security Council.
Jordan still administers the Dome of the Rock, upon which extremist Israelis, now in power, want to rebuild the Jewish Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The extremists have for decades tried to declare Palestine to be part of Jordan, where they want to expel Palestinians living on the West Bank, which they call Judea and Samaria.
If Abdullah agreed to take Palestinians from Gaza there would be upheaval in Jordan, a nation already made up by a majority of Palestinian refugees and their descendants. Analysts say Abdullah acquiescing to ethnic cleansing and increasing the population of Palestinian refugees is a combination that could topple him.
Taking in Gazan Palestinians could open the way for an even greater influx from the West Bank if the extremists in Tel Aviv begin their ethnic cleansing there.
The age-old dream of these extreme Zionists to control Gaza and the West Bank has never been closer to realization. That would explain the constant grin on Netanyahu’s face last week when he was listening to Trump’s “plans.”
Israel has used the now crumbling ceasefire in Gaza to turn their military attention to the West Bank, where UNRWA said Monday 40,000 Palestinians had already been displaced from their homes.
Is their next stop Jordan? Not, it seems, if Abdullah can do anything about it.
Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette, the London Daily Mail and The Star of Johannesburg. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of London, a financial reporter for Bloomberg News and began his professional work as a 19-year old stringer for The New York Times. He is the author of two books, A Political Odyssey, with Sen. Mike Gravel, foreword by Daniel Ellsberg; and How I Lost By Hillary Clinton, foreword by Julian Assange. He can be reached at joelauria@consortiumnews.com and followed on X @unjoe.
“Just Say “NO” to ethnic cleansing aka “resettling” i.e., “It’s not a complex thing to do. And with the United States being in control of that piece of land, a fairly large piece of land, you’re going to have stability in the Middle East for the first time. And, the Palestinians or the people that live now in Gaza will be living beautifully in another location. They’re going to be living safely.” Boasts President DJ “Full of Him$elf” Trump. #47, w/ an approval rating of 53%.
Trump apparently thought he heard Abdullah say, “Yes.” The king uttered nothing when Trump said “with the United States being in control of that, piece of land…” The king’s “got” NO, LOVE! Imo, “we, the people, the taxpayers, the ATM, presidents & kings bank on to fund their endless occupations, ask,“Give the people, what they want! I.E., “the dismantling of the Apartheid state,” in GAZA.
“Trump was also asked if he could give the king a guarantee that he would not allow Israel’s annexation of the West Bank. Trump gave a lesson in evasion instead.” Joe Lauria.
Consequently, this goes out to the “killers in high places:” *“If you ever hear that [BOMB drop]. Put your eye to the sky,” [Mr. Trump]; “and, wonder, maybe there’s a kingdom above the weather. Oh, and whether, you’re gonna get on in. Is up to him.”… “AND, if, [GAZA] dies too young. Oh, if the wolf, he comes. Fee-fi-fo-fum. If [GAZA] dies too young. Oh, if the locust come. Well, then run, run, run, free.”
Everybody, knows, the real criminals are in the WH, The M.I.C., the U.S. Congress; &, IMO, “the U.S. Authority,” Israel.
“IF, they ever hear that [BOMB drop]. [They] may think ’bout what you do but you don’t got. Say a prayer. Think of mother. I am a rock. If you ever hear that sound now. If the door gets kicked in!!! HERE, they come NOW! Think of others. Be their cover. I am what they’re not.”
… “Pray for [GAZA]. “[They]” cannot scare us; OR stop the music. If I die too young. If the gunmen come. I’m full of love. So, release me. Every piece of me. Up above. Up above. Love my mama & my papa. Love my sister. Can’t stand the” [killers]. Their ground war on terra. Oh, [BOMBS, dropping, everywhere, on GAZA. “Sixty-Five Thousand crushed, buried, dead under the rubble], “Singing, oh, my Lord come carry me home. Oh, my Lord come carry me home. I’m singing oh my God. Oh my Lord. Oh my God, oh my Lord. Oh my God, oh my Lord, oh my Lord.”
“[IF, THEY GET THEIR WAY]” Joe Lauria…[“IF, GAZA] dies too young. Let all that they’ve done. Be remembered. And, [GAZA] will sleep easy. Like baby Jesus. Safe from danger. Carry onward. Like some songbird. “Beautiful Strangers.” Kevin Morby.
TY, Joe Lauria, CN, the Readership, for “making it make sense!”… “Carry onward. Like some songbird. Oh, beautiful strangers,” Kevin Morby @ Mercedes-EQ, Concert Series, hxxps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mgsc_VyQ2PI
quote
“The press was let into the Oval Office apparently without the monarch’s foreknowledge, which the Times suggested was another Trump tactic to humiliate him before the cameras”
Jeffery Epstien like tactic ?
Good thing they were not concealed but maybe they have others for more private meetings ?
I hope the king brought his own private outhouse too otherwise or his face would turn red from squeezing his cheeks .
I may look weak he thought , but please do not let my people say ” We have a fool for a king ”
When the plane took off , T gazing toward the sky , saying it looked like a goose until it hit my eye .
The sound heard soon thereafter , was a sonic boom with a thundering roar .
Its exhaust shown black as tar on its depart , full throttle , like a McCain wet start .
Thank You Joe
Abdullah exhibited the usual hashemite two-faced act which the Arabic-speaking world has long come to know & detest. Remember Abdullah is no Jordanian, he originates from Saudi Arabia from where his family was tossed into Jordan. This was done by england at the time they swapped anglo/amerikan access to Arabia’s oil for total control of the region by the el-Saud family.
The hashemites who had used their control of Mecca, Medina & Al Aqsa were an obstacle to this overtly commercial arrangement so Abdullah’s grandfather was told he could take his remaining thugs to the brand new state of Trans-Jordan (basically the bits of Palestine left over following the Balfour declaration) from where he could be close to Al Aqsa the one holy site the family was left with after england shifted control of Mecca & Medina to the el-Sauds.
Whatever real power the Hashemites had was a mere remnant of the control of the region they had once enjoyed, so reluctantly they scuttled to ‘Tran-Jordan’ where english then US support for secret police, torture centers & total repression has kept them in power.
There is no love lost between el-Sauds & the Hashemites but the Hashemites are nothing if not opportunistic, it is very likely they will cut a deal with Saudi now their US goose has ceased laying appetizing eggs.
Abdullah’s public comments with Trump sounded to me like the Southern phrase, “Bless your heart!” which is often translated as “F$$$ off, a@@hole!”
With Israel we’re dealing with a lunatic state, a criminal sadistic lunatic artificial state.
Where honest analysis breaks down around this entity is that mega billionaire Jewish supremacists squelch free speech and forthright discussion on college campuses and in the mainstream media.
Miriam has two extremely dangerous overall goals: 1.) ethnically cleanse the West Bank, and 2.) topple the current administration in Iran by any means necessary. The job of the American people, both MAGA supporters and Trump haters, is to coalesce to try and stop number 1, which will be difficult; but number 2 is possible to stop bc it’ll require American soldiers on the ground. The American public’s support for any kind of war is razor thin. Sure, in the initial stages they can be gung-ho but once the body bags start coming back they quickly sour.
To boil it down again to take in the threat to Constitutional liberties — the American people need to be focusing on wrestling back their free speech rights from these creepy sadistic billionaires and making damn sure, to repeat myself, we do not go to war with Iran!
Clearly, Trump views Palestinians as cattle that are to be herded from one range to another. He assigns no dignity or worth to those desperately poor people who have endlessly suffered at the hands of Israel. And who can respect Abdullah when he stands like a school boy, accepting humiliation from an ignorant loud mouth?
Good luck. What Jordan king says in one place is not important. What he in fact does is important.
If a politician says one thing in private, and another in public, be very skeptical. The Democrats love their royalty and hate populism. Maybe they make this King a Democrat?
Thank you Joe, for your very well written explanation of King Abdullah II honest response to King Trump. What nerve of the American King to demand that the Arab countries absorb the expelled natives of Palestine?!!!…for the benefit of the racist Zionist intruders!!
The World must wondering “What the hell is America doing?” “How can they be stopped?”
The United States of Israel is behaving like Hitler at Munich. In my opinion, we are very likely headed for an international confrontation that could terminate in WWIII. Who is it that wants this? Who is it that is herding us in this direction?
Have we forgotten the Trail of Tears?
Have we forgotten that this is what we did to native populations in the north American continent?
I am so ashamed.
Never forget!
Considering that Trump is hastening the fall of America, we are approaching the time of remembering everything.
I swear I saw Netanyahu wink at Trump…..
In circles where people gather to deal with family dysfunction and other traumatic issues, it is a given that shaming behavior is the classic sign of an abuser. No one needs to feel shame for who they are, let alone guilt for deeds they did not do.
One might hope that if you are going down between a rock and a hard place, that you choose the option that includes dignity, self-respect, and solidarity with humanity. If so, the Jordan’s king has no option than to stand with the Palestinians.