somehow escaped thursday elive and on friday the president took off for a nine-day overseas trip. but the wheels of air force one had barely left the ground when this happened. >> according to the white house document, president trump in the oval office told russian officials james comey, the fbi director, was quote a nut job. >> in trump's defense, i can kind of see where he's coming from. the guy keeps hiding in my drapes. that same document that the white house did not deny gave the even more concerning detail that trump told the russian guests i just fired the head of

fbi, i face great pressure because of russia. that's taken off. it's almost difficult to believe your ears when you hear something aodd ashsly corrupt. it would be like if hillary clinton said i -- benghazi. >> he's expected to arrive in tel aviv within the hour. >> he ditches his campaign rhetoric for a moderate and more consillatory tone. >> and nikki haley, despite the president's past calls that cut u.s. funding for the united nations. ♪ good morning everyone. it's a very busy monday morning. i'm amon. and we're awaiting president trump's arrival. we're looking at new pictures of

the president and first lady departing saudi arabia about two hours ago. the president should be landing soon in tel aviv. israel newspaper reports benjamin netanyahu had to order the ministers to arrive. after they disinvited them and reinvited them only to view from the sidelines. he wants to be united and ready to take a fresh look at the peace process with the palestini palestinians. he had to win approval of even modest gestures meant to encourage palestinian economy and ease conditions for those living in the west bank and elsewhere. joining us in jerusalem,

host, andrea mitchell. president trump will visit some historic religious sites in israel. tell us about the agenda and how the white house has prepared for this visit. >> the white house has really prepared down to every minute. he's been running behind schedule throughout the trip so far on the saudi leg of the trip but no matter how the schedule evolves, it's going to be very tightly controlled. no news conferences, no opportunities to question the president. he, in saudi arabia was very much on script, on teleprompter in his speech. one change in his wording, which is significant, although his aids described it to fatigue. you've been pointing out radical islamic terrorism. and criticized those in the

diplomatic community for not using and he used islamist extremism but actually slipped and said islamic extremism which refers more to the religion than those who try to destort the religion. he was very much on message in every regard and diplomatic and sober and i think that's what we're going to see as well in israel because the reception has been marred by political differences among all the israeli factions but not as far as the u.s. administration is concerned. >> andrea, let's talk a little bit about the it revelations that came before the president left on this trip and that was in part that president trump shared with russia some key intelligence they had gathered about a potential bomb plot. obviously that created a bit of rift in israel. do you think that's going to be

brought up in his meetings with the israel leadership today? >> i don't think so. i think if it's mentioned at all, it would be one on one between bemthem. look, the israeli intelligence officials were furious about it and they were trying to down play it. they point out there have been missteps before but none so public. because this was leaked by american officials, clearly and the fact there have been errors in the past but not this public and not an error so significant as disclosing such closely regarded israeli secrets. >> while we're awaiting president trump's arrival there, we're going to check back with you in just a bit.

now to the president's speech yesterday. following a teleprompter, a sharp contrast to his days on the campaign trail when he retunely used the phrase radical islamic terrorism, which he did not utter once. >> i stand before you as a representative of the american people to deliver a message of friendship and hope and love. i also promise that america will not seek to impose our way of life on others. but to out stretch our hands in the spirit of cooperation and trust. we are not here to lecture. we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. instead we are here to offer partnership based on shared interests and values.

>> president trump also called on muslim nations to not allow terrorists who he called quote put soldiers of evil to find sanctuary while calling on religious leaders to make it clear that barbarism will carry no glory. >> terrorists do not worship god, they worship death. this is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilizations. this is a battle between good and evil. but the nations of the middle east cannot wait for american power to crush this enemy for them. the nations of the middle east will have to decide what kind of future they want for themselves for their country and frankly, for their families and for their children. a better future is only possible if your nations drive out the terrorists and drive out the extremists.

drive them out. drive them out of your places of worship. drive them out of your community. drive them out of your holy lands. and drive them of this earth. >> and joining us now from washington is national political reporter, jonathan swan. good morning to you. it's going to be a big week for the president, not just on his trip abroad but domestically. i understand the budget proposal expecked to be unveiled this week. what have you been hearing? >> the really big thing that we reported yesterday evening is that donald trump is going to make very substantial cuts, not only on what's called the nondiscretionary side which we already know about which is things like the epa and the state department but the side which is entitlements, things

like food stamps, so disability insurance. the children's health insurance program, medicaid. there's going to be really steep cuts, i'm told by a source with direct knowledge the cuts will add up to $1.7 trillion over the next 10 year years. >> we're going to ask for you tastick with us for a moment as we look at pictures in air force one landing in tel aviv, israel. we saw video of the army corp as they prepare. making a touch on a historic flight. we say historic because assand are amitchell was pointing out i believe this is the first time that any aircraft of any sorts was able to take off from saudi

arabia, fly directly into israeli airspace and land in israel. because the two countries do not have diplomatic relationships. in fact, it is not allowed for israeli flights to fly over saudi airspace. so the fact president trump is making this historic flights in itself speaks to the kind of trip he had. we saw him and milania trump. and now a flight over to israel. seems leak he is now beginning the second leg of his trip which includes a visit to the holocaust museum. he'll be going to bethlehem meeting with israeli officials as well as palestinian officials to really try to jump start this peace process. >> and you're wondering is this the beginning of an odd couple there considering this historic flight being made to israel.

talking over his itinerary. he's going to be meeting with two of christianitys most holy sites and meeting with the prime minister of israel and then tomorrow meeting with palestinian president. >> and we can see obviously the red carpet has been rolled out for the president and his delegation that is arriving. you see members there from various ethnic groups from israeli societies. christian as well as muslims, jews, rabbis as well. so you know, you compare the arrival ceremony that the president was given when he came to saudi arabia, obviously with a grander in the pomp and circumstance that saudis are known for. hospitality a very big thing, especially in the gulf. it will be interesting to see the kind of reception he gets here and according to israeli newspapers, back and forth about who would attend until the prime

minister, netanyahu mandated that all of his cabinet ministers actually attend the tarmac ceremony. i think it was because they wanted to have a moment to meet and greet president trump to israel when it was clear they would only be asked to watch from the sidelines, caused them to say they wouldn't attend until there was that mandate. there will be an opportunity to see the president as well as the israeli president, he is oc obviously the head of state. so he is playing a very important role welcoming foreign dig nuitaries and particularly the president of the united states which israel has a very close relationship with. >> and this had contravroversy surrounding this as well.

and it seems leak he will not be. >> last week you had the national security advisor, they were both pressed on whether or not the western wall was considered part of israel. saying it was the most holy site in judaism and not so far as to say the western wall was part of israel. and nikki haley came out and said no, jerusalem and the western wall -- >> that's a huge contentious point. >> and that's obviously the sensitivity of this. >> jonathan swan standing by, as we've been speaking here, watching air force one arrive. do we have you still? let's talk a little bit about this peace deal. president trump arriving in israel as we watch everybody awaiting his arrival. what can people expect? what do you think he can get

accomplished over the next couple of days? >> well, nobody inside the white house thinks they're going to accomplish anything especially dramatic on this trip but what you should see is the israelis will probably make a few concessions, largely symbolic to show trump that they're serious about a two-state solution. so you might see some economic initiatives for the palestinians. the perspective inside the white house, what jared kushner, who is really leading this peace process in the administration, what he says to the colleagues is i don't know if we can get this done but it's our job to try. but really what i'm told is that donald trump actually does believe that his self conceived genius for deal making actually can get this done. his view of history is that it's a sort of great man view of history, that there it requires is somebody with the deal making

skills, the personal charisma, the force of personality that's what's required to solve this contract. let people in the foreign policy community, deeply skeptical that's correct and in fact what donald trump has already done is he's already irstated i would say angered some conservative pro israel leaders by not fulfilling his campaign promise to move the embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem and the reason he hasn't done that is because this is something he thinks he can use in the peace negotiations. >> president trump overseas being very presidential and somer of the challenges he faces back here at home. is this going to help alleviate some of the pressure that has been building up domestically

here with the fbi director's firing? with some of the investigation involving the russian's interference in our election? >> short term, yes, long term, no. one of his advisors said this is exactly what he needs at the moment and we're seeing the evidence of it now, which is your television, the screens on msnbc are not focussed on the rolling russia crisis. it gives donald trump an opportunity to appear statesman like, to be dignified, to make speeches that appear diplomatic. this is stuff that will probably fuel his confidence. he's going to come back home and comey will testify at some point. we've got a special counsel. this story's going on for a long, long time. and i can tell you the view from donald trump's close advisors is

that they need to almost create a box for this crisis in the way that clinton administration created a box for the lewinsky crisis. they need a point man to deal with it and have a sophisticated legal strategy to combat this. >> washington reporter for access. jonathan swan. good to have you with us this morning. want to bring back andrea mitchell who's been standing by. you're watching his arrival there. i'm not sure if you can see the images as we see them. are you seeing them, aened ndre? >> it appears they're ramping it up to try to at least compete, if they can with reodd because as you know, in israel about who would be there and netanyahu wanted to be there by himself. he told the cabinet they couldn't come. they were supposed to stand in

the back drop. they said we will not go at all and he relented and said they could come. so we'll see how this coalition cabinet arrays itself with a lot of the ministers not wanted to show up because of netanyahu's disagreements with him. but this of course a very anticipated first trip by president trump to israel and as you were just saying with jonathan, this really does sublumate all of the political difficulties back home for the time being. richard nixon most notably have used foreign trips in key moments to distract from their problems back home and that certainly could be the case. this is a long planned trip but a lot of other problems have intervened especially as the president was taking off from andrews air force base about 20 minutes to a half hour later,

those first reports, damaging reports about the russia investigations. >> let me ask you. i know, andrea, you've covered many inaugural president's trips, most to eekt itherer can or russia. what is the significance of this administration saying the first foreign trip was going to be to saudi arabia, to israel and ultimately to the vatican? what do you think is the underlying purpose of these destination snz. >> first of all there are a number of messages going in different directions. the most immediate message was an insult to canada and mexico, our closest neighbors. that, an insult to them, not well received, as the president had promised to renegotiate or cancel nafta. so that was an immediate message. most importantly, he wanted to

send a message that he is aligning himself with the sunni arabs against iran. in contrast, he hopes to president obama whom they felt in the arab world disregarded their interest by going to cairo giving a speech and not following up on it, aligning himself temporarily with the z muslim brother hood and of course making the deal importantly with iran. so that's an important message here. also the fact president obama went to cairo and didn't come to israel at all in the first trip. that is a very important message that israel is so important, it is the second stop on this middle east trip and the tom is is a different level than the

past friction, notable friction that we covered for years between netanyahu and obama. >> is it typical to have this kind of arrival ceremony and the politics? >> this is the biggest arrival that i've seen in israel for an american president. certain lae there was a lot of pomp and circumstance for president obama but not at this level and similarly in read, the king did not go to receive him in fact and in this case the king not only went to the airport but road in the american limousine, the so-called beast with president trump all the way in from the airport. so there was so many aspects of that arrival that exceeded anything that american presidents have seen before. you know, just looking at this arrival and at the context of

president trump's hope for initiative with the middle east in israel, he has very brief meetings. he does symbolic visits to the church of the holy sep lucure. a 14-minute visit to the holocaust museum. and these are not major negotiating sessions. i think any expectations for break throughs on the israel palestinian front are way excessive. so what you're hearing about the break throughs and the ease that president trump has himself discussed that his middle east peace is not as difficult as some have said, that's just not realistic at all. we see here the pictures of netanyahu and his wife, sarah going on the red carpet to greet president trump and milania trump, the first lady.

so all of this very important. prim but his coalition government, his ministers will be out here in an agreement that was patched over in a day of netanyahu trying to wrestle the coalition back into shape. israeli politics are always difficult for any american president. even though we have difficult politics inu.s., there's nothing that compares it to the many factions that exist in israeli politics. he's madged to control this coalition by coopting some of the ministries, even though he has cabinet ministers in charge, he's the former finance minister and has so many years deal with the u.s., he's not relying as mump on his coalition. you see air force one coming in.

this is an historic arrival. in my recollection and we've checked back with others, there's never been a flight, military or commercial directly to tel aviv because of a hist orc emnuty. even though they deal with each other secretly, they have never acknowledged the relationship publicly and so this is a big deal. l.l., the national airlines of israel has to fly, if it's flying from india, has to fly around saudi airspace. so if there could ever be commercial flights in saudy airspace for the israeli airline or u.s. airlines -- and you cannot fly directly from washington to israel. you have to go through new york or other u.s. cities or through toronto because it's never been

ackbau acknowledged but the foreign airlines and the u.s. airlines that leave from the dulles airport near washington have so many roots with the arab world that they do not fly to israel directly. >> let me ask you about some of the points that you raise in particular, the emnuty. they both have a shared common enemy in the region, iran. is that something that president trump talked about extensively when he was in saudi arabia. and that they really see iran as a hostile actor in the region. that is something gulf countries as well as israel share. is that an opportunity for president trump? is iran going to be featured in these talks or is this more narrowly defined about bilateral relationships? >> no, i think iran is very much

front and center, especially with the reelection of president rouhani in iran. and some believe this is a missed opportunity, that the fact that rouhani now has a mandate he does not have before for this nuclear weapons deal that the nuclear nonproliferation deal with the west, that president trump has temporarily agreed to live up to, even though he described it as the worst deal ever in american history as a candidate, he has agreed to go along with it while seeking greater sanctions with iran for violating on its missile development and support of hezbollah in syria and elsewhere around the world. that said, you have the more

moderate of the candidates, rouhani in a election just counted over the weekend. if there were ever a moment to reach out to iran, this might be it. but benjamin netanyahu, donald trump and the sunni arab leaders are not about to do that w with all the arab leaders since donald trump has been elected, the message has been the same. this is their chance to organize the sunni shiite world against iran. >> and you think back to the campaign trail when then candidate trump was saying that the iran deal is the worst thing out there and he says to isolate iran, yet he was walking back those words saying they're abiding by the rules within the deal. if this is just a precursor for what's to come in that they will eventually walk that nuclear deal back, considering?

people he had been meeting with on this trip so far. >> every 90 days he has to certify to congress that iran is living up to the deal. and so far secretary tillerson has lived up to that. the nukeler edeal was negotiated with the six western powers. that has been recertified by the international atomic agency, by their weapons inspectors. the virtue of it according to others who were part of that negeen negotiation is that for at least a decade it will slow iran down. while it's permitted to have some of its equipment, it is nullify bide having cameras in every site and weapons inspectors in every station. the counterargument is that iran

cheats. in the past they have had secret underground sites well beyond the inspector's vision. most notably in 2009 that was discovered and that lead to a major breach. so there is a lot that can happen between now and then. what we have seen since he became president trump is that he has moderated his language, certainly on this trip, about islamic extremism, even in his message to a joint meeting of congress. he went with radical islamic extremism. but he did not do that this weekend and that was the first time thatty with have seen a more diplomatic donald trump. as you see air force one coming in and benjamin netanyahu and sarah netanyahu waiting for their arrival. despite friction, the u.s. was

initially supposed to go where it was decided for security or other reasons was not good idea. the site of one of the great tragedies in israeli history. mass suicide in the face of an onslaught. perhaps that was symbolically not a good message to send. there's been a lot of controversy as to who can acc p accompany him there. there have been calls for a male reporters from the american press core to volunteer because women are not allowed to go into the men's section of the western wall where people pray every day and that is under orthodox jewish rule and i have gone in the past with women secretaries of state to that location but when you go with a man, the women are excluded. and so i was willing to volunteer to be in the white house press pool but the rules

coming back from the israeli side is that women need not apply. there are a lot of restrictions here, as are in the arab world. >> and the first lady won't be accompanying him? >> i don't think so. i really don't. i think this will be a solo visit. there's a part for women to pray. i've been there myself. >> ayou're seeing the israeli prime minister with his wife, sarah. you're seeing to his left, israeli president and his wife as well. we can see air force one pulling up. we should note the plane that landed a short while ago, that seemed to be the advanced plane for the president and this, we believe is the actual air force one plane that has landed. i would say a few yards off the end of that arriving red carpet. and andrea, you know, let's talk a little bit about the

opportunity of possibly jump starting the peace process. we've been talking about them being stalled for several years. especially when the prime minister was visiting, he says he doesn't care if it's a two state, a one state, as long as the two sides agree to it. do we have a sense of what the american administration, particularly the trump presidency, what their vision is for a peaceful solution between the israelis and palestinians? have they articulated anything behind the skicenes on what the would like to see the final outcome look like? >> they have been taking it from different direction. their vision is not to do the israeli/palestinian peace deal first. but to do the arab relationship, repair that relationship and hope that the secret relationship between the saudis and the israelis against iran,

that can help pave the way for a better palestinian/zeisraeli relationship. he had a very warm reception from president trump in washington. that said other palestinians who disagree with huh because and who disdain his leadership, he has very little widespread support anumong the palestinian people are very angry about this and do thought see these chances. we saw a new mandate from hamas in gaza hoping they could pave the way for a better relationship and be part of the conversation. some zooisraelis also believe t hamas is now a reality that gaza is not going to go away. but that is not likely to happen under president trump. at least not as far as israel is

concerned, at least as far as netanyahu is concerned. it's not going to be possible. so i think the broader vision is not articulated really. jared kushner very prominent involved. and he's close to the settlement's philosophy of the new ambassador to israel. the trump lawyer, our new u.s. ambassador with the foundation that jared kushner's father was involved with, which is settlements. so there's talk about whether there's a possibility for peace as long as donald trump supports israel's visions of expanding the settlements of what is believed to be by many diplomats, bush as well as clinton, that it has to be part of a palestinian state if there

is ever going to be a viable palestinian state. they tread into a coherent palestinian state in the west bank by chopping up the west bank so dramatically have made it impossible to have what anyone could imagine as a palestinian state. the other thing to note is that the palestinian population can compared to the israeli population is almost equal. and as the palestinian demographics advance, if there isn't a second state, they would be overwhelmed by arabs. so if they want to be a jewish state, they really need to have a separate state. >> let's pause as we look that president and prime minister down those red carpet steps.

i imagine there's going to be a major arrival ceremony. so let's listen in. >> just give us a little bit of ro room. >> actually as we await president trump's arrival. we also know president trump will meet with palestinian president tomorrow. how does a white prepare for something like that? having melt with netanyahu and then traveling to the west bank? >> very carefully. obviously security here is intense. they even put double glass into the hotel where other foreign leaders have stayed for years. it's a famous hotel in jerusalem. and they've closed the roads already. they're about an hour away in

tel aviv or less by motorcade. one thing is going to be very welcoming. it's in the 70s here. it's a beautiful spring-like day. >> cooler than saudi arabia. >> exactly. the weather is just glorious. and i think everyone hopes the spirits and diplomacy will match the beauty of the weather. the other big jet, the 747 is for the staff, the limousine -- well, not the limousine because that comes on the cargo plane. the back up plane, if you will. there's always two that travel. >> i don't know if you saw the arrival on the steps. the israeli ambassador to washington and the american ambassador to israel. so we have a more complete picture of who's going to be receiving president trump and milania trump at least on the foot steps of air force one as they descend or embark from the

plane. you were talking about some of the thornier issues of the palestinian israel peace process. we talked about this a short while ago as well and you brought it up that palestinian authority is losing some support among the palestinian leadership. does thissed ed administration and believe that it's still the best chance or partner for peace with the israelis? that's always a charge that they don't have a partner for peace. but from an american perspective, what is the positionen the current leadership? as you mentioned palestinian prisoners are on hunger strikes in jails. >> yeah, they believe he is the best partner for peace. they also believe he's the only diplomatic partner because they don't deal with hamas and they

give him quite a welcome in washington. a big white house welcome and a big joint news conference with the president. so they are not trying to subordinate him at all. they're trying to elevate him. and very closely aligned with benjamin netanyahu, a fierce opponent to the iran deal and he's certainly much closer to president trump than president obama. you remember when prime minister yetten yeah hew addressed a meeting was aranged without the white house knowing about it. and that was arranged by the embassy in washington. there's been a lot of friction in the past and that is all completely different in terms of the israeli relationship with this president. >> and we see arriving as well jared kushner and ivanka trump

have lantded as well, joining the rest of the delegation you see walking behind the idf and that is the arrival ceremony. >> well, more than a very important role. as you know they are religious jews. she converted to marry jared kushner -- >> we're seeing the president arriving. didn't mean to cut you off but we're seeing the president arriving and the first lady arriving. let's watch as they descent from air force one. >> i'm honored. >> the honor is only mine. >> nice to meet you. so many people know you. >> it's a great honor.

>> nice to meet you. >> welcome our good friend. we're going to talk about it. >> it may be 100,000, it may be 20,000. >> is that it? >> it was unbelievable. >> i've never seen anybody do it. >> welcome. >> nice to see you. thank you so much for coming. >> who's this guy? who is it? >> you bring a pen? >> kblb so proud. >> doing great. >> he's a little -- >> very nice to meet you.

>> i'm honored. thank you. [ speaking foreign language] >> let's go, honey. let's go. let's you and i walk up here. >> they have all this protocol. >> what is the protocol? >> nobody knows. >> i think i'll just start where to stand. mr. trump here. okay. [ speaking foreign language] ♪

>> so you're seeing the arrival ceremony of president trump, milania trump escorted by the israeli delegation, the israeli ambassador as well as the american ambassador to israel and it's quite a remarkable moment of candor and you heard the israeli prime minister and the president -- >> to sort of hear that conversation that they would have. >> and you can clearly see they have a court and jurjl relation. you heard president trump say this was a great honor be to in israel meeting with israeli ofilss. they even talked about the

ceremony he was given in saudi arabia. i believe the israeli prime minister called it unbelievable. it was remarkable to hear that as well. and you heard him crack joke with the israeli -- i should say the american ambassador to israel telling his wife he got what he wanted in terms of a trump lawyer becoming the american ambassador to israel as you hear now the american national anthem playing out. >> wondering if netanyahu knew his mikes were up as he said welcome my friend in a very emphatic welcome. >> now you hear the israeli national anthem being played as well. >> andrea, i'm not sure if you had a chance to pick up on some of the sound we were hearing as well but you can clearly see the body language, dynamic. these are all individuals very familiar with each other.

what did you make of that brief encounter? >> i thought that was very familiar, very friendly and the comments about what the protocol was, very amusing. i want to share with you as we listen in the background to the israeli national anthem is there was a briefing on the airplane, on air force one with sec are eitary of state rex tillerson i have a transcript of and very interesting moments in this briefing. he talked about the fact there has been some moderation and it's different when you go to people's homes and understand their culture. the president now has a better understanding of the muslim world. he was also asked -- i found this very unusual -- he was asked about the meetings in the oval office with the russian that he attended and he said that would not at all effect his ability to do diplomacy. this is a man who had been the

head of exxon mobile who dealt extensively in the arab world and said yes, this was his first trip to israel. it's quite interesting that rex tillerson is front and center has never been to israel before. because as head of the oil company and someone who spent his entire career at exxon mobile was always dealing with the arab world and therefore thought with israel. remarkal. >> as you mentioned rex tillerson having to work on the relationships on the israeli side, jared kushner has very close tied the israeli leadership now has to build his relationship on the palestinian side as he becomes a central figure in these toalks the american president wants to jump start. you see them walking down to the red carpet.

we're expecting them to make brief remarks. we'll take a listen to those when they approach that. >> and you didn't hear from president trump much. he made a few brief remarks there. but before that address, he made very brief remarks on that very first day. so wondering how much and how often if he's in on the ground there. >> obviously there's going to be a lot of discussion. >> reporter: lot of talking. >> a lot of discussions between the israeli about the saudy visit. any backd door channels that ma be working, particularly on the iran front. >> you mentioned the meeting with lavrov and kislyak and we've been talking about the muslim world and israel, now that president has arrived

there. but you can only imagine the eyes of russia are also on the president's first foreign trip abroad. >> i think eyes of the world are on this first foreign trip. there are a number of upset about the meeting with the russians and that's going to be the back drop of the nato meeting next week when he goes to the nato meeting for the first time in brussels. at least in the riad stop, he read from the teleprompter. of course he hasn't had a news conference and we don't expect to unless things ease up and they decide he's really ready for that kind of encounter. he has not been speaking in photo opportunities. this has been a very different donald trump. i don't think he's on twitter. i haven't had a chance to check.

>> we've not been hearing much from him on twitter. that's for sure. >> i think he's trying to speak to president trump. >> yeah. >> one thing that rex tillerson said to the press was that we're all underestimating the importance of the king in his speech saying brothers, we have to fight terrorism wherever we find it in our religious spaces -- i'm paraphrasing but that message was an important message from an american perspective and key white house advisors think it's the first time a saudi president has ever madedeclaration. >> the last thing he wants to do is hear questions about russia while he's taking his first inaugural trip abroad, setting

the stage to something he wants to look forward to, looking towards the future. >> and to the point about the russians, i believe we were just receiving rex we were receivin tillerson asked if planned to apologize for sharing israeli intelligence with the russians, secretary of state tillerson said i don't know there's anything to apologize for. what about their concerns? rex tillerson said to the extent israelis have questions or clarification, i'm sure we're happy to provide that. that is obviously something that is probably an elephant in the room of sorts. these israelis have robust intelligence services. they certainly don't want it shared with russia and iran which has a close relationship with russia. >> exactly. i think if it's cleared up at all, it will be cleared intelligence chief to

intelligence chief. they don't want to have the president and netanyahu get into this kind of detail. better left unsaid. >> all right. we have ambassador to israel david -- israeli president taking the stage right now, so we'll take a listen to what he says. >> prime minister and his wife sarah, distinguished guests, dear friends, welcome, welcome to israel. it is a great pleasure to have you here. your visit is a symbol of the unpracticable bond between israel and america. you are the president of israel's greatest most important erach era. you are true friend of israel

and jewish people. mr. president, the world needs a strong united states. the middle east needs a strong united states. israel needs a strong united states. may i say that the united states also needs a electronic israel. in the middle east, an area that suffers from terrorism and madness, the partnership between the united states and israel shines like a peekon of liberty. the bond between us is bond between states but also between people. we share common values as we share the hope for peace. the people of israel are excited

by your arrival and have great expectation from this visit. we thank you for the commitment for israel's ability to face the threats of today and of tomorrow. mr. president, today i will have the honor to host you in jerusalem. we are honored to have you here with us as we mark 50 years of jerusalem day. it makes us very happy to know that israel's most important ally recognizes the significance of islam to the jewish people all around the world. jerusalem is the beating heart of the jewish people as it has for 3,000 years.

mr. president, you come here to israel from saudi arabia. you will be at the western wall and visit the holy church and then you are going to the vatican. in just one journey, you will visit the three holiest places for islam, judaism and christianity. we each have different beliefs, but we all worship the same god. we can work together towards a better future. we shall continue to do so together, mr. president. [ speaking foreign language ] welcome to israel. god bless you.

god please you, mr. president. god please you, first lady. god please america. god please israel. got bless america. god bless israel [ speaking foreign language ] ladies and gentlemen, the prime minister of the state of israel and minister of foreign affairs, mr. benjamin netanyahu will deliver his welcome remarks.

>> the president and his wife, president trump and madam first lady, donald, mellianimelania. welcome. a very warm welcome to israel. your visit here, mr. president, is truly historic. never before as the first foreign trip of a president of the united states included a visit to israel. thank you, mr. president. thank you for this powerful expression of your friendship to israel. mr. president, yesterday in saudi arabia you delivered a forceful speech of clarity and

conviction. you called on all nations to drive out terrorists and extremists. you called for the forces of civilization to confront the forces of barbarism. mr. president, for 69 years, israel has been doing precisely that. we've manned the frontlines of civilization, fought terrorism. we've built a modern, vibrant, democratic, jewish state. in doing so, mr. president, we've protected all faiths, muslims, christians, everyone. throughout the middle east, christian communities are decimated, minorities persecuted. but here in israel, we're proud to have a growing and thriving christian community, and we guarantee the rights of all.

mr. president, israel also shares the commitment to peace you expressed yesterday. we've already made peace with egypt and jordan. israel's hand is extended in peace to all ufo neighboour nei including palestinians. the peace we seek is a genuine and durable one, in which the jewish state is recognized. security remains in israel's hands, and the conflict ends once and for all. mr. president, you just flew from riyadh to tel aviv. i hope that one day and israeli prime minister will be able to flay from tel aviv to riyadh. may your first trip to our region prove to be an historic milestone on the path toward

reconciliation and peace. i look forward to working with you in the years ahead, mr. president, to advance security, prosperity, and peace. i'm confident that you said your leadership the remarkable alliance between israel and the united states will become ever greater, ever stronger. donald and melania, the entire u.s. delegation, on behalf of the government and the people of israel, we welcome you to the tate of israel. may god bless you, mr. president. may god bless israel, and may god bless the united states of america. [ applause ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> so president trump just

minutes ago touched down in tel aviv on the second leg of his first overseas trip as president. he was met at the airport as you just saw by prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who apparently had to order reluctant cabinet members to attend this greeting. the president is now at the podium. >> we're going to listen to a few minutes of this and then get on with the news. here is the president. >> it is wonderful to be here in israel. president rivlin, mrs. rivlin, prime minister netanyahu, mrs. netanyahu. thank you very much. i am deeply grateful for your invitation and very, very honored to be with you. on my first trip overseas as president, i have come to the sacred and ancient land to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between the united states and the state of israel.