Donald Trump will host three foreign leaders at the White House and his Mar-a-Lago club this week — the Egyptian president, the Jordanian King, and the Chinese president — in what could prove to be a crucial moment for his foreign policy plan.
(Photo: Getty Images)
First, the president will host Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the White House on Monday. In a briefing with reporters last week, senior White House officials said Trump wants to focus on economic and security matters during their visit, which will be Sisi’s first to the White House since he came to power in 2013.
When asked if Trump will address human rights issues with Sisi, one official said, “Our approach is to handle these types of sensitive issues in a private, more discreet way.”
King Abdullah is scheduled to visit the White House on Wednesday. The two will meet in the Oval Office before partaking in a working lunch, officials said.
“Jordan is a key partner for the United States in the region, and we anticipate the two leaders will discuss a range of shared priorities, including efforts to defeat ISIS, how to end the conflict in Syria, and advancing progress between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” the officials noted.
“It was important to the president that he welcome King Abdullah to the White House early in his administration as a sign of the strong friendship and partnership.”
The officials added that Trump is expected to discuss the U.S. approach to defeating ISIS with both leaders.
(Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Then the biggest meeting comes on Thursday, when Trump welcomes Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach for two days. In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump hinted at the possibility of a “very dramatic” deal during their meeting.
“I would not be at all surprised if we did something that would be very dramatic and good for both countries and I hope so,” Trump said.
Trump also weighed the option of giving the Chinese leader an ultimatum concerning the North Korean nuclear threat, saying, “China has great influence over North Korea. China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won’t. If China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.”
Trump has hosted one other foreign leader at Mar-a-Lago so far, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.