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President Trump told Axios Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked him for a meeting at the White House, and that it could take place as early as next week after Trump returns from the NATO summit.

"We get along very good. [Netanyahu] knows who the boss is," Trump said in a brief phone interview, referring to himself. 

Why it matters: This would be the first meeting between the two leaders since their dramatic Situation Room meeting in February, when Netanyahu presented his plan for launching a joint war against Iran.

An Israeli official said next week might be too soon for the visit to take place because of Trump's trip to Turkey, where the NATO summit will take place on July 7-8.

"It might take place the week after," the official said.

What they're saying: The Israeli prime minister's office said Netanyahu called Trump on Friday to congratulate him on the 250th Independence Day of the United States.

"During their conversation, the Prime Minister said that the United States is a guarantor of global freedom, and that Israel greatly values the close relationship between the two nations. Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the United States," Netanyahu's office said.

Between the lines: People in Trump's orbit have grown increasingly skeptical and disillusioned with Netanyahu in the months since their February meeting.

"Many of Trump's closest advisers think that Bibi was wrong about everything," a U.S. official said.

Trump lashed out at Netanyahu over Israel's escalation in Lebanon in a phone call last month, calling the prime minister "crazy" and accusing him of ingratitude.

The tensions have deepened a broader Republican schism over Israel and the war, with MAGA influencers like Tucker Carlson accusing Trump of being beholden to Netanyahu.

The big picture: Trump and Netanyahu's national security and foreign policy objectives — along with their domestic political interests — have diverged over the last two months amid the war and other regional issues.

Despite Netanyahu's reservations, Trump signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last month extending the ceasefire with Iran and launching fresh nuclear talks.

Trump also pressed Netanyahu to restrain IDF operations in Lebanon — where fighting had become an obstacle to the Iran talks — and to sign a framework agreement requiring an initial withdrawal from the south

Zoom out: A meeting with Trump at the White House would be hugely important for Netanyahu as he kicks off his campaign for the October elections in Israel, where polls currently have him trailing.

Driving the news: Trump told Axios he's following the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on the first day of the war in a joint U.S.-Israeli operation.

Trump claimed the Iranians "are begging to make a deal," but said both sides decided to take a week off from the talks until the events around Khamenei's funeral end. In the meantime, he said, neither side will shoot at the other.

"They are all there. One shot [and we can take them all out], but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with," Trump said.

He added that he was surprised to see some Iranians crying at the funeral, saying he thought people hated Khamenei. "Maybe it's fake tears," Trump mused.

funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Exclusive: Trump says Netanyahu "knows who the boss is" ahead of possible WH visit

The White House visit could take place as early as next week.

Netanyahu and Trump in the Oval Office on Feb. 4. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

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2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

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We're alive at the single greatest moment in U.S. and human history. By a lot.

Why it matters: It's not even close, by almost every empirical measure. We live longer, better, richer, healthier and freer than those before us.

Yes, we screw a lot up. Always have. Always will. But nothing bothers me more than the widespread pessimism and plummeting patriotism — when it should be a time of great hope and possibility.

To me, that yawning gap between our reality and how people feel about it is among the biggest macro issues facing us.

Why America still rocks

There's no better place on Earth to start a business, take a risk, dream big — doing what you chose to do, where you chose to do it.

We're the widest, deepest, richest, most transparent economy anywhere — the engine behind phenomenal growth and wealth.

We're the greatest meritocracy on earth, unshackled from limits of age or pedigree. We're wired for risk.

We can think, say and worship as we please without fear of imprisonment. Faith may be fading, but the freedom to practice is unfettered.

We stir and enjoy a magical cocktail of democracy, capitalism and individual freedom that produces history-bending ideas like AI.

We're protected by the world's strongest military — at once the most feared and the most sought after by other nations for help.

We've got two protective oceans on our shoulders, friendly neighbors to our north and south, and abundant energy beneath us.

We've racked up four straight years of record energy production on our soil.

We've created history's longest-surviving democracy, with a rare ability to evolve and meet the craziest challenges.

The bottom line: Most people are NORMAL. They're good, hardworking, generous. They volunteer, help you shovel in a storm and don't dunk on strangers online.

250 years in, and America is still the only economy on earth built to reward risk and power unimaginable, enviable, free market growth.

Why it matters: Our economy is a product of that deal. It gives us room to experiment with abandon and then get paid when we're right.

The beautiful twist: The system doesn't punish failure — it rewards those who take their lumps, learn, adapt.

The numbers don't lie: We are crushing it.

America is home to roughly 1 in 24 people on earth, about 4.2% of the planet. Yet we produce 26% of all global GDP.

Put it another way: The U.S. economy alone is bigger than China, Japan and Germany combined.

U.S. stocks are now 65% of the entire world's equity value, up from 40% a decade ago.

America deploys 57% of the world's venture capital.

When they can't beat us, they join us. The London Stock Exchange lost 88 companies in 2024, its biggest exodus since the financial crisis, and the bleed continued into last year. The biggest defectors picked New York.

Keep looking across the Atlantic to grasp our strength and growth. In 2008, the E.U.'s economy was slightly larger than ours. Today, it's a third smaller.

We hold the door open. Almost half of the Fortune 500 last year was built by immigrants or their children.

So much of what we read about America these days might make us think it's screwed, thanks to our broken politics and sealed-off media bubbles. I've spilled plenty of ink on it.

But, empirically speaking, we're cooking with grease.

A line chart that tracks monthly U.S. new business applications from January 2016 to May 2026. Applications fell to a low of 216,520 in June 2016, surged to a peak of 546,719 in July 2020, then eased. They totaled 523,971 in May 2026, remaining above pre-2020 levels.

New business applications in the U.S.

Data: U.S. Census Bureau; Chart: Axios Visuals

This place is a startup — and innovation — machine.

Why it matters: It's not by accident that the Internet, AI and most modern technological advances are America-made or led.

We're a new business and idea-creation superpower. AI has the POTENTIAL to allow people without capital to join the startup revolution, too.

By the numbers: New business applications across America have averaged about 5.5 million annually since the pandemic. The average pre-COVID was closer to 3.5 million.

High-propensity applications — the ones that the Census Bureau flags as most likely to be successful — are also running well above their pre-pandemic levels.

The share of new startups launched by a single founder jumped to 36.3% last year from 23.7% in 2019. AI tools can let one person do what it used to take a staff of 10 or more to accomplish.

There's a lot of money to be made on your own, and it's coming fast. Solopreneurs clearing $1 million more than doubled and those crossing $5 million–$10 million nearly tripled between 2023 and 2025, according to a recent Stripe analysis.

One guy who later hired his brother built a $1.8 billion telehealth provider in a couple of months using AI as his backbone. He's not going to be the last.

The bottom line: We have problems. Building and growing stuff ain't one of 'em.

A line chart that shows the U.S. age-adjusted death rate per 100,000 people each year from 1975 to 2025. The rate fell from 1,094.4 in 1975 to a low of 689.2 in 2025, with a pandemic-era spike to 879.7 in 2021 before resuming its decline.

U.S. age-adjusted death rate

Data: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System; Note: 2025 figure is provisional; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. overall death rate in 2025 fell to its lowest point ever recorded, thanks in part to a steep decline in drug overdoses.

🥳 Worth celebrating: The rate dropped across virtually every age and demographic group tracked by the CDC.

A line chart that shows annual U.S. philanthropic giving from 1985 to 2025. Total giving rose from $71.69 billion in 1985 to $617.2 billion in 2025, the series high. It dipped from $311.06 billion in 2007 to $274.78 billion in 2009 before resuming growth.

Total philanthropic giving in the U.S.

The same instinct that keeps America's risk engine running fuels our philanthropy as well.

Americans gave a record $617.2 billion to charity in 2025, according to Giving USA — more than any other nation, and consistently among the highest as a share of GDP.

🍻 🇺🇸 The bottom line: I'll end with my anchor belief: most Americans are good people — generous, hard-working, idealistic — who need and deserve better leadership around them.

📈 If you're a CEO or on a CEO's team: Ask to join Jim's new weekly Axios C-Suite newsletter.

What America gets right

Animated illustration of an American flag waving with fireworks going off behind it.


Illustration of an American flag waving with fireworks going off behind it.

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Extreme heat, drought and dangerous fire weather are raising wildfire risks across the U.S. West heading into the July 4 weekend.

Why it matters: Millions of Americans celebrating Independence Day face fireworks restrictions as officials warn that a single spark could ignite fast-moving wildfires in areas already strained by extreme heat and drought.

Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect in parts of Utah and Colorado due to massive blazes in those states.

Driving the news: "Dangerous, record-breaking heat" continues across the central and eastern U.S., with the most intense heat shifting east through Independence Day weekend, the National Weather Service warns. 

Heat indexes of up to 115°F are possible, and temperatures are set to hit 105°F or higher in Washington, D.C., this weekend.

Widespread drought conditions have fueled an unusually active wildfire season in Florida.

Several areas of the West and Great Plains are in extreme or exceptional drought, which, combined with recent heat waves, has increased the likelihood of wildfires.

Case in point: Utah officials report that more than 300,000 acres have burned this season.

The Cottonwood Fire alone has burned more than 92,000 acres. 

Two other major fires near Eureka have burned about 70,000 acres combined.

State of play: Counties nationwide have issued July 4 fireworks bans to reduce the risk of fires during July 4 celebrations.

Fire danger is elevated nationwide, with at least 49 large fires burning across 13 states as of Thursday, per the National Interagency Fire Center.

Conditions are particularly dangerous across the Four Corners and the Great Basin.

Zoom in: Gusty winds, low humidity, dry thunderstorms and near-record- to record-dry fuels have ignited new fire starts and rapid fire spread across the eastern Great Basin and Four Corners. 

Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and Oregon have major topsoil moisture deficits, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Red flag warnings were in effect Friday across the interior West, including parts of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

By the numbers: Wildfire activity is well above average this year. Through June 30, acreage burned was 157% of the 10-year average, while 36,262 wildfires had been reported — 133% of average, according to the National Interagency Fire Center's July outlook.

Between the lines: "Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States during the last two decades," NOAA notes.

The congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment notes that Western wildfires have become larger, hotter, more destructive and deadlier due to multiple factors, including climate change.

How wildfire danger is affecting July 4 fireworks

Some U.S. counties and cities have issued fireworks bans amid extreme heat or drought, including parts of the Nebraska Panhandle, New Mexico and Colorado Springs.

Multiple Florida counties remain under burn bans that limit bonfires, trash burning and fireworks.

Utah has implemented statewide fireworks restrictions. Gov. Spencer Cox said the ban was in response to "the reality that is with us, not the one that we wish we had."

What we're watching: More wildfire activity is possible if prolonged extreme heat worsens drought conditions.

What they're saying: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises Americans to never use homemade fireworks and always keep water nearby "in case of fire or to safely soak used fireworks."

The CPSC recommends that you "leave fireworks to the professionals and enjoy public fireworks displays in your community." 

Go deeper: America's 250th fireworks party collides with burn bans

America's 250th fireworks party collides with burn-bans

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Why this July 4 weekend is a wildfire tinderbox

Extreme heat is raising July 4 wildfire risk, with fireworks bans and dangerous fire weather across parts of the U.S.

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