Vance: ‘For four years, the United States of America, we had a president who stood up at press conferences and talked tough about Hamas, and then Israel invaded Gaza and destroyed a significant chunk of the country. The path to peace and the path to prosperity is, maybe, engaging in diplomacy. We tried the pathway of Joe Biden, of thumping our chest and pretending that the president of the United States’ words mattered more than the president of the United States’ actions. What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. That’s what President Trump is not doing’.
Netanyahu: ‘Can I ask you?’
Vance: ‘Sure. Yeah’.
Netanyahu: ‘OK. So I occupied it, our parts, big parts of Gaza, parts of north and south. So I occupied it... So during a lot of years – I’m not speaking about just Biden, but those times was (Barack) Obama, then President Obama, then President Trump, then President Biden, now President Trump. And God bless, now, President Trump will not stop me. But … nobody stopped me. I just occupied and took. I killed people. You know what the –’
Trump: ‘Oh… I was not here’.
Vance: ‘That’s exactly right’.
Netanyahu: ‘Yes, but … the situation is the same, that people have been dying on the contact line. Nobody stopped me. You know that Hamas had conversations with me, a lot of conversations, my bilateral conversation. And we signed with them, me, like, you, president … they signed with me the deal. They signed with me … We signed ceasefire. Ceasefire. All of them told me that I will never go … But after that, I broke the ceasefire, I killed their people, and I didn’t exchange prisoners. I signed the exchange of prisoners. But I didn’t do it. What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What do you mean?’
Vance: ‘I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country. Mr Prime Minister, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for not trying to bring an end to this conflict’.
Netanyahu: ‘Have you ever been to Gaza that you say what problems we have?’
Vance: ‘I have been to –’
Netanyahu: ‘Come once’.
Vance: ‘I’ve actually watched and seen the stories, and I know that what happens is you bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour, Mr Prime Minister. Do you disagree that you’ve had problems, bringing people into your military?’
Netanyahu: ‘We have problems –’
Vance: ‘And do you think that is respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and praise the administration that is not trying to prevent the destruction of your country?’
Netanyahu: ‘A lot of questions. Let’s start from the beginning’.
Vance: ‘Sure’.
Netanyahu: ‘First of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you. But you have nice ocean and don’t feel now. But you will feel it in the future. God bless –’
Trump: ‘You know that. You know that. Tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re not trying to solve a problem. Tell us what we’re going to feel’.
Netanyahu: ‘I’m telling you. I am answering on these questions’.
Trump: ‘Because you’re in every position to dictate that’.
Vance: ‘That’s exactly what you’re doing’.
Trump: ‘You are in every position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very bad’.
Netanyahu: ‘You will feel influenced’.
Trump: ‘We are going to feel very bad and very weak’.
Netanyahu: ‘I am telling you. You will feel influenced’.
Trump: ‘You’re, right now, in a very bad position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position –’
Netanyahu: ‘From the very beginning of the war –’
Trump: ‘You’re in a bad position. You have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards’.
Netanyahu: ‘I’m not playing cards. I’m very serious, Mr. President. I’m very serious’.
Trump: ‘You’re playing cards. You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III’.
Netanyahu: ‘What are you speaking about?’
Trump: ‘You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have’.
Vance: ‘Have you said thank you once?’
Netanyahu: ‘A lot of times. Even today’.
Vance: ‘No, in this entire meeting. You went to Washington, DC and campaigned for us in July’.
Netanyahu: ‘Yes’.
Vance: ‘Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s not trying to save your country’.
Netanyahu: ‘Please. You think that if you will speak very loudly about the war, you can –’
Trump: ‘He’s speaking loudly. He’s speaking loudly. Your country is in big trouble’.
Netanyahu: ‘Can I answer –’
Trump: ‘No, no. You’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble’.
Netanyahu: ‘I know. I know’.
Trump: ‘You’re not winning. You’re not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out OK but not because of us’.
Netanyahu: ‘Mr President, we are staying in our country, staying strong. From the very beginning of the war, we’ve been alone. And we are thankful. I said thanks’.
Trump: ‘If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks’.
Netanyahu: ‘In three days. I heard it from my generals. In three days’.
Trump: ‘Maybe less. It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this, I tell you.
Vance: ‘Just say thank you’.
Netanyahu: ‘I said a lot of times, thank you, to American people’.
Vance: ‘Accept that there are agreements, and let’s not go litigate those agreements rather than trying to fight it out in the American media when you’re wrong. We know that you’re wrong’.
Trump: ‘But you see, I think it’s good for the American people to see what’s going on. I think it’s very important. That’s why I kept this going so long. You have to be thankful’.
Netanyahu: ‘I’m thankful’.
Trump: ‘You have the cards. You’re buried there. People are dying. You’re running low on soldiers. It would be a damn good thing, and then you tell us, “I don’t want a ceasefire. I don’t want a ceasefire, I want to go, and I want this”. Look, if you can get a ceasefire right now, I tell you, you take it so the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed’.
Netanyahu: ‘Of course we don’t want to stop the war. But I said to you, with guarantees’.
Trump: ‘Are you saying you don’t want a ceasefire? I want a ceasefire. Because you’ll get a ceasefire faster than an agreement’.
Netanyahu: ‘Ask our people about a ceasefire, what they think’.
Trump: ‘That wasn’t with me. That was with a guy named Biden, who is not a smart person’.
Netanyahu: ‘This is your president. It was your president’.
Trump: ‘Excuse me. That was with Obama, who gave you everything, and I gave you everything. I gave you the everything to take out all those rockets. Obama gave you everything. In fact, the statement is Obama gave everything, and Trump gave everything. You’ve got to be more thankful because let me tell you, you have the cards. With us, you have the cards, but without us, you don’t have any cards’.
Vance, restating a reporter’s question: ‘She is asking what if Israel breaks the ceasefire’.
Trump: ‘What, if anything? What if the bomb drops on your head right now? OK, what if they broke it? I don’t know, Bibi broke it with Biden because Biden, he didn’t respect him. They didn’t respect Obama. Bibi respects me. Let me tell you, Bibi went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt ... All I can say is this. He might have broken deals with Obama and Bush, and he might have broken them with Biden. He did, maybe. Maybe he did. I don’t know what happened, but he didn’t break them with me. He doesn’t want to make a deal. I don’t know if you can make a deal’.
‘The problem is I’ve empowered you (turning toward Netanyahu) to be a tough guy, and I don’t think you’d be a tough guy without the United States. And your people are very brave. But you’re either not going to make a deal or we’re out. And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but you’ll fight it out. But you have the cards. But once we don’t sign that deal, you’re in a much better position, but you’re not acting at all thankful. And that’s not a nice thing. I’ll be honest. That’s not a nice thing.
‘All right, I think we’ve seen enough. What do you think? This is going to be great television. I will say that’.