MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
With word of a tense meeting in the Oval Office today - President Trump met the King of Jordan for the first time since his inauguration and also for the first time since Trump shocked the world by saying the U.S. would take over Gaza. Arab leaders have rejected this idea. Today, though, Trump doubled down. He says he wants to move millions of Palestinians out of Gaza so that the land can be redeveloped.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Palestinians or the people that live now in Gaza will be living beautifully in another location. They're going to be living safely.
KELLY: NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez was following the meeting. He is here with me now. Franco, I'm trying to picture this. How did this go over?
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Yeah, I mean, let's just paint a picture here. I mean, originally, this meeting with King Abdullah was supposed to be behind closed doors. But at the last minute, a small group of reporters were brought into the Oval Office. And this was a very high-stakes meeting. Trump floated this idea of taking over Gaza just a week ago. And this was the first meeting with an Arab leader since he did that. The two leaders sat next to each other by the fireplace in the Oval Office. And Trump again insisted that the U.S. would take over the territory, but he would not give specifics on how that would happen.
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TRUMP: We're not going to buy anything. We're going to have it, and we're going to keep it. And we're going to make sure that there's going to be peace.
ORDOÑEZ: He was also asked about what authority he would have to do this, and he just said bluntly, U.S. authority. Again, he was unclear about what that means.
KELLY: Did King Abdullah seemed to know what he meant? How did he react?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, the king kind of - you know, kind of, you know, laid back. He kind of allowed Trump to speak. He was quiet, perhaps a little uncomfortable. He seemed to fidget at times. And when he spoke, he was definitely more cautious. He at first praised Trump, saying he sees someone who can take the region over the finish line to bring peace and stability. And when he got to specifics, he basically urged everyone to slow down. He said it was important not to get ahead of ourselves. He said Arab leaders plan to be meeting soon in Saudi Arabia discuss how to work with the U.S. on this and that they would bring that plan to Trump.
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KING ABDULLAH II: I think the point is, is how do we make this work in a way that is good for everybody.
TRUMP: Right.
ABDULLAH II: 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.
ORDOÑEZ: But he also announced that Jordan would take in 2,000 children from Gaza who have cancer or are sick.
KELLY: Right. Just to fill in some of the context, Trump's plan depends, in part, on moving Palestinians from Gaza into Jordan, also into Egypt. Yesterday, Trump was saying he might take away U.S. aid to those countries if they don't comply. Did that come up today?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, President Trump was asked about that. He kind of backed off that threat a bit. You know, he cited the relationship that they have. He noted Jordan's generous plans to take in 2,000 children. But at the same time, Mary Louise, that he was saying that, he was also making sure to reemphasize that the U.S. does provide a lot of aid.
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TRUMP: You know, I think we'll do something. I don't have to threaten with money. We do - we contribute a lot of money to Jordan and to Egypt, by the way, a lot to both. But I don't have to threaten that. I don't think - I think we're above that. I do believe we're above that.
ORDOÑEZ: Now, frankly, the fact that all this is playing out in front of cameras is very unusual. I mean, it's just another example of Trump's aggressive approach with really little regard for the traditional back and forth of typical diplomacy. And it's putting a lot of pressure on these Arab partners who don't like this idea, yet it's clear they want to find a way to work with Trump.
KELLY: And just quickly, all of this is playing out with this ceasefire holding but looking in jeopardy, this ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. How does all that factor into Trump's plan for Gaza?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, the ceasefire looks very shaky right now. Trump reiterated his deadline for Saturday, and he made clear that, you know, it's unclear what that means. But he did say that he didn't think Hamas would reach the deadline.
KELLY: NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Thank you.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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