Netanyahu and Zelenskyy Meet Trump at the White House as Washington Honors Lindsey Graham
Key Takeaways
- •The White House said Trump’s meetings with Netanyahu and Zelenskyy were positive and productive, and both were closed to the press.
- •Netanyahu said he and Trump discussed keeping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and coordinating security arrangements for Israel.
- •Zelenskyy said his meeting with Trump included talks about licenses for Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors and other support ideas.
- •The U.S. Air Force began the process of renaming Joint Base Charleston to Joint Base Lindsey Graham.
- •Trump delivered a tribute to Graham at memorial events in Washington, and Graham was honored in the Capitol Rotunda during two days of services.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday was the first since the two leaders launched a joint war against Iran, and it gave Netanyahu an opportunity to ease strains in the relationship.
According to a White House official, the two leaders also planned to discuss the framework agreement the U.S. and Israel signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war, as well as the expansion of the Abraham Accords.
Trump also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday ahead of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral, in what was their second sit-down this month. Graham was to be eulogized Tuesday during memorial services across Washington, with Trump expected to deliver remarks at the cathedral alongside Fox News’ Sean Hannity and other conservative figures. Later, Trump joined guests and foreign leaders at Washington National Cathedral to eulogize Graham, who became one of his generation’s most influential U.S. politicians at home and abroad.
The latest
The U.S. Air Force has begun steps to rename Joint Base Charleston in honor of the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, according to an Air Force official.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal military matters, said Air Force Secretary Troy Meink signed a memo Monday beginning the process of renaming the base to Joint Base Lindsey Graham.
There was no immediate timeline for how long the process would take for the base, which sits adjacent to Charleston International Airport. The renaming was first reported by the Post and Courier.
Graham served in the Air Force, the Air Force Reserves and the Air National Guard for more than 30 years as a lawyer before retiring at the rank of colonel, according to his Senate website. He was honored at a memorial service Tuesday after dying suddenly on July 11.
Speaking at the lectern during his tribute to Graham, Trump said the moment was especially difficult.
“I will say, this memorial service — it’s so hard to say: memorial service for Lindsey,” Trump said before continuing.
Toward the end of his roughly 12-minute tribute, Trump looked upward and suggested Graham was “watching us” now.
“Our nation needs more men and women like that great person sitting, laying — wherever he may be,” Trump said. “I think I know where he is, and I think he’s up there. I think he’s watching us. I’m pretty sure of it.”
Trump also recalled Graham’s forceful defense of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during the 2018 confirmation hearing in Trump’s first term.
Christine Blasey Ford had accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party when they were in high school, an allegation he denied. Graham, then a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee considering the nomination, strongly defended Kavanaugh, who was later confirmed to the high court.
“His impassioned defense of a wonderful person, a great gentleman, Justice Kavanaugh, ended a disgraceful attack on this very good man and gave us one of the greatest moments the Senate has ever seen,” Trump said. “It was a truly monumental moment in Senate history. I believe it was Lindsey’s perhaps finest hour.”
Kavanaugh was among the mourners at Washington National Cathedral.
Trump said Graham became a “constant fixture of American politics at the highest level, and a force to be reckoned with all over the world.”
“For more than 30 years, nothing of consequence happened in this capital without Lindsey Graham knowing about it. Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it,” Trump said. “And no bill became law in the most exceptional Republican human history without Lindsey Graham having a say in it.”
“He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart until that heart itself just gave out,” Trump said. “Trump said Graham ‘went out at the peak of his career and the top of his game.’
In a video posted on his Instagram account, Netanyahu described his meeting with Trump on Tuesday as “excellent.”
He said it was “a conversation with full partnership, with mutual support, with an understanding of the common goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, and other goals as well. One of the best conversations I’ve had with the President of the United States, our friend Donald Trump.”
The Israeli prime minister met with Trump at the White House for about 90 minutes in a closed-door meeting. Netanyahu said Trump’s “entire senior team” was present, along with “our senior team,” and described the talks as “an opportunity to exchange ideas and to coordinate arrangements that are important for the security and future of the State of Israel.”
Netanyahu left after about 90 minutes.
As he was departing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a statement on X saying Trump had concluded his meetings with Netanyahu and Zelenskyy.
She wrote: “Both meetings were positive and productive!”
Both meetings were closed to press coverage.
The event on Monday evening in Washington was also attended by Graham’s sister and successor in the Senate, Darlene Graham, as well as other relatives, friends of the late senator, “senior administration officials and members of Congress,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
At the event, the Israeli leader praised Graham as “deeply committed to the security of the United States, to the security of Israel, and to the ongoing fight against anti-Semitism,” the statement said.
Netanyahu, who met with Trump at the White House, was among several foreign leaders expected to attend Graham’s Washington funeral later Tuesday.
“America has lost a great patriot. Israel has lost one of its greatest friends and supporters. And I have lost a dear friend,” Netanyahu said at the memorial dinner.
In a social media post afterward, Zelenskyy said his first act was to offer condolences to Trump on Graham’s death. Graham was close to Trump and a strong supporter of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said he and Trump discussed licenses for Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors and “several other ideas that could help.” He said they also discussed diplomacy.
Zelenskyy said he expressed gratitude to the United States for “its firm support” and that their teams would arrange future communication.
The White House closed the meeting to independent journalists. Zelenskyy posted photos showing him with Trump and said U.S. Secretaries Rubio, Bessent and Hegseth attended the Oval Office meeting.
Iran said recent U.S. strikes destroyed an airport and a marine control tower and damaged 12 bridges and two tunnels, among other infrastructure.
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani gave the details Tuesday in an announcement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency.
The U.S. military said it struck numerous military targets this month in response to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Arab countries hosting U.S. forces.
Both sides paused their attacks over the weekend, though tensions remain high.
Mohajerani said Bushehr International Airport, on the Persian Gulf, has been “rendered inoperable.” She said both tunnels have been reopened and alternate routes established around the damaged bridges.
She also said other civilian infrastructure had been destroyed, including a meteorological center and fishing boats. The U.S. said it targeted small boats used by Iranian forces to harass ships in the strait.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., placed both hands on Graham’s casket and then placed her hand on her heart. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., saluted from her wheelchair. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., gave a fist bump.
Scores of former senators also traveled to the Capitol to pay their respects, including former Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., who bowed and then briefly kissed the casket.
Others stood briefly before the casket and offered a short prayer and a sign of the cross.
The black SUV carrying Netanyahu arrived on West Executive Avenue minutes after Zelenskyy left following his own meeting with Trump. Netanyahu stepped out of the passenger side of the vehicle, buttoned his suit jacket and entered through a side entrance to the West Wing. The meeting was also closed to press coverage.
Ambassador Danny Danon told U.N. reporters Tuesday that Netanyahu definitely wanted to hear from Trump what he wanted to see in the coming days or weeks.
“I cannot tell you which direction it will go. There are different options,” Danon said. “We are prepared for all scenarios, and we will discuss it with the president.”
Danon was responding to a question about whether Israel expected the two leaders to discuss specifics of scaling down or ending the war in Iran.
“Well, I’m sure that will be number one on the agenda in the meeting today between the prime minister and the president,” he said.
Amid somewhat strained U.S.-Israeli relations, Danon said, “We fought shoulder-to-shoulder against Iran, and we are prepared to continue supporting the U.S. in pursuing peace and stability in the region.” He added that Gaza would also be on the Trump-Netanyahu agenda.
“I traveled with Lindsey all over the world as part of the congressional delegations and I saw firsthand just how much he was respected by our allies and just how well he was able to connect with foreign leaders around the world,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.
Thune and others honored Graham at a tribute Tuesday in the Capitol Rotunda.
Thune also cited Graham’s sense of humor, saying that when lawmakers gathered for dinners in Washington, Graham was always the first call and no one was better at making a room laugh.
Choking up, Thune closed by telling Graham to “rest in peace my friend.”
“I look forward to the days when you make us all laugh again,” Thune said.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 90.8 in July from 92.2 in June.
Consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions fell by 3.6 points to 114.9, marking the third straight monthly decline.
Views about the near-term outlook held steady from last month at 74.7.
Consumer sentiment had improved modestly in June as gas prices fell to around $3.70 a gallon from more than $4.50 a gallon in late April and early May. But as fighting in the Middle East escalated, the average U.S. gas price began rising again. On Tuesday it was $4.10, according to AAA.
The White House said the meeting started at 9:47 a.m. It was closed press, meaning journalists were not expected to see the leaders together in the Oval Office.
The remains of the Republican senator arrived at the U.S. Capitol, where his flag-draped casket was carried inside by an armed forces team in recognition of his military service.
He is being honored at a tribute in the Rotunda, the start of two days of services for the South Carolina senator.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to speak, and several Cabinet officials were in attendance, including former Sen. Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary, as well as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who faces a difficult Senate confirmation process.
The threat came in response to Trump’s post on social media last week in which he threatened to use frozen Iranian assets abroad to pay for damage to ships from Iranian attacks in the strait.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command, said Tuesday that any countries or companies that join in Trump’s “unlawful action” will be barred from using the strait. The critical waterway carried a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas before the war. His video message was carried by Iranian state TV.
Trump had said damage to ships would be “paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls.” It was unclear what legal mechanism he would use to seize and spend the funds.
Zelenskyy’s car pulled up on West Executive Avenue, a private road within the White House complex. He stepped out of the passenger side of a black SUV and walked around the rear to enter the White House for the meeting.
Bill Pulte, the acting director of national intelligence, has sought to leave his mark during his interim tenure.
With the Senate poised to confirm Jay Clayton for the role, Pulte released a series of intelligence community documents from 2020 on X on Tuesday. The documents described China’s capacity to interfere in the American political process and vulnerabilities in the election system.
The substance of the material was largely recycled and already known, but its release is part of a broader Trump administration effort to raise concerns about the integrity of U.S. elections, especially the 2020 presidential race that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Pulte has also overseen a downsizing of the national intelligence office, which serves as a coordinating hub for the U.S. government’s intelligence agencies.
He said on X that the latest round of job cuts left the office with about a 30% staff reduction from weeks earlier.
Trump has repeatedly backed away from threats to destroy bridges, power plants and other infrastructure, but he told Fox News Channel in an interview that Iran knows he will “finish the job” if its leaders do not make a deal to end the war.
He said millions of people would then struggle to get by.
Trump claimed he would need less than an hour to “take out” most of Iran’s bridges and said he could blow up its power plants “within one day” before targeting desalinization plants.
“You know, if I can avoid doing that, I’d like to do that,” he said.
The president also said he is not worried about construction activity at Iran’s potential nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain, a complex Trump has threatened to bomb.
He criticized Netanyahu for publicly expressing concerns about the site ahead of their White House meeting.
“I know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe,” Trump told “Fox & Friends,” adding that whatever Iran is doing is “not a big problem.”
On Netanyahu’s statements before his visit to Washington, Trump said, “Why don’t you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce to the world.”
The bilateral meeting, on the same day both men were attending Graham’s funeral, was the first since Netanyahu and Trump launched their war in Iran five months ago.
Speaking warmly about Graham, Trump said he admired the late senator as a nice person who was quick to call for military action.
“He was a guy that liked war,” Trump said Tuesday in a Fox News interview. “I jokingly say, and there’s nothing funny about it, but he’s never seen a war that he didn’t like.”
Trump added that Graham was “very much a hawk on Iran” but had also told him it was time to make a deal to end the war. That did not extend to the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said.
“Ukraine he’s very militant about,” Trump said. “Lindsey liked war, to be honest with you.”
It will ensure that a permanent director is in place as the midterm elections approach.
Clayton is expected to be confirmed along party lines after a contentious hearing two weeks ago in which he repeatedly refused to say that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Democrats have said they have more confidence in Clayton than in Trump’s temporary pick for the job, Bill Pulte, who has no known intelligence experience and investigated the president’s perceived enemies in his previous role as a federal housing regulator.
Senators from both parties have expressed concerns about Pulte, who took over on an interim basis last month after Tulsi Gabbard resigned. Pulte was in charge when Trump delivered a speech from the White House earlier this month doubling down on his false claims about the 2020 election and released classified documents he said were relevant to his arguments.
Only foot traffic was allowed on streets around the White House complex. Vehicular traffic was blocked by city police cars and dump trucks at key intersections, including Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street and near Lafayette Park.
Netanyahu was staying at Blair House, the U.S. government’s guest house across from the White House.
Zelenskyy had the first meeting with Trump, scheduled for 9:30 a.m., followed by Netanyahu at 11 a.m.
Trump and Zelenskyy met Tuesday ahead of Graham’s funeral, marking their second sit-down this month and coming after a far-right activist close to the president publicly reversed his view on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Trump was set to welcome Zelenskyy to the White House as the Ukrainian leader traveled to Washington to honor Graham, whose final act as a public official was visiting Kyiv and securing an agreement on sanctions aimed at punishing countries that buy Russian oil, gas and other exports.
Zelenskyy posted on X early Tuesday that he had arrived in the U.S. and outlined the goals for his visit.
“Our schedule includes meetings with President Trump, his team, and those who can support our defense,” Zelenskyy said. “Our number one priority is anti-ballistic defense and strategic cooperation with America. Peace needs to be brought closer.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump on Tuesday was the first since the two leaders launched a joint war against Iran and an opportunity for Netanyahu to ease tensions in the relationship.
The meeting came as both men faced pressure at home. Netanyahu is up for reelection and is under strain in part because of his deteriorating relationship with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has hurt the economy and pushed prices higher ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The two leaders also planned to discuss the framework agreement the U.S. and Israel signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the meeting.
“We have a little difference,” Trump said Monday when asked by reporters if he and the Israeli prime minister were aligned on Iran. “But pretty close, yeah.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com