The Israeli prime minister's meeting with Donald Trump came after Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with vice president Kamala Harris, after which she said she will "not be silent" over suffering in Gaza.

Donald Trump hosted Benjamin Netanyahu at his Florida resort as he dismissed reports of tensions between the pair and attacked Kamala Harris’s “disrespectful” comments about the Gaza war.

The former US president welcomed the Israeli prime minister to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach for their first meeting since September 2020.

The Republican presidential nominee and Mr Netanyahu have reportedly been at odds since the Israeli PM congratulated Joe Biden for his victory in the 2020 presidential election, which Mr Trump falsely claimed was stolen from him.

It was all smiles between Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu on Friday, however, with the American saying “we have a very good relationship” and insisting it was “never bad”.

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
    262·
    3 months ago

    isn’t it like, literally illegal for a private citizen to meet with foreign heads of state to discuss policy?

    • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
      11·
      3 months ago

      to my surprise, there is really something to that effect…

      “Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
        13·
        3 months ago

        You might want to read the Logan Act

        Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

        This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

        Gazan policy qualifies as a controversy. By meeting with a foreign head of state, he’s interfering with Biden’s ability to bring about the US’s policy goals.

        • 14th_cylon@lemm.ee
          5·
          3 months ago

          yeah, should have googled first. unfortunately i doubt it can realistically apply here though, the moron will claim that he acts on behalf of half of the congress or something to that effect.

          • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
            6·
            3 months ago

            I mean, he’s still in possession of documents containing our most sensitive secrets….

            If they can’t enforce that, they’re not gonna enforce something half of congress breaks gonna regular basis

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
      95·
      3 months ago

      Haven’t heard that before but Elon Musk and Zuckerberg might be in some trouble too if that’s true.

      If anyone applied the law pertaining israel that is.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
        14·
        3 months ago

        Because setting US policy is done by elected officials… private citizens representing the US is a bad idea.

        Especially if trump is making promises in exchange for help in the election. (Which you know he is.)

          • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
            11·
            3 months ago

            and doesnt officially represent us.

            Which is why he’s not allowed to negotiate future policy decisions in a quid pro quo. Essentially, he’s just made himself a foreign agent.

            • blazera@lemmy.worldEnglish
              26·
              3 months ago

              It happens every election, frontrunner candidates often meet with many foreign leaders. They dont have any authority to set any policy, and talking isnt illegal.

              • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
                6·
                3 months ago

                Logan act says otherwise.

                Any discussion that undermines the sitting president’s policy goals is illegal. It was created for exactly this situation- political opponents meeting with and disrupting negotiations.

    • usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml
      1·
      3 months ago

      Yes, and it goes back to 1799

      The Logan Act (1 Stat. 613, 18 U.S.C. § 953, enacted January 30, 1799) is a United States federal law that criminalizes the negotiation of a dispute between the United States and a foreign government by an unauthorized American citizen. The intent behind the Act is to prevent unauthorized negotiations from undermining the government’s position.[2] The Act was passed following George Logan’s unauthorized negotiations with France in 1798, and was signed into law by President John Adams on January 30, 1799

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act