This week in Washington will be dominated by two foreign visitors: French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife's visit will culminate with the first state dinner of Trump's presidency at the White House on Tuesday night — then, on Friday, Trump hosts German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
What we're hearing: Macron hopes to persuade Trump to work with the Europeans to fix the Iran nuclear deal rather than to follow his instincts and tear up the deal next month by reimposing American sanctions on Iran.
In a phone call last year with Bibi Netanyahu, President Trump said something that shocked some of the people who helped prepare his briefing materials for the conversations. According to three sources familiar with the call, Trump asked Bibi bluntly if he actually cares about peace or not.
The details: Trump was pressing Bibi on the importance of striking a "deal" for Mideast peace. He'd read news reports about Bibi planning to build additional settlements to please his conservative base in Israel. Trump thought Bibi was unnecessarily angering the Palestinians. So, in the course of a longer conversation that was mostly friendly and complimentary, he bluntly asked Bibi whether or not he genuinely wants peace.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday defended the international Iran nuclear deal in an interview with Israeli TV, saying that while she understands Israel’s “great worries,” a partial framework is better than no agreement at all, AP reports.
Why it matters: Her defense comes ahead of a May 12 deadline, which President Trump set to withdraw from the agreement unless the deal's other major European signatories — Germany, France, and the United Kingdom — agree to enact "significant changes.”
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is expected to lead the United States' delegation to the inauguration ceremony of the new American embassy in Jerusalem on May 14th, Israeli officials told me.
The big picture: The Israeli Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister's office have started to prepare for the embassy event and for welcoming the delegation. The officials added the Israeli government wants to use the event to give diplomatic boost to U.S.-Israeli relations and to the Israeli efforts to convince other countries to move their embassies to Jerusalem. On May 16th, Guatemala is expected to move its embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem.
Flashback: While it's possible that Trump knows something that we don't, a Bush 43 National Security Council official broke down yesterday's concessions for Axios: "Not a big deal to pause testing nuclear or missiles when summit is coming ... Totally reversible. Eye wash."
Multiple states lack the ability to guarantee the accuracy of election outcomes in the event of a suspected breach.
The big picture: Five states — Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, New Jersey and Delaware — have no paper trails of votes. The other nine are in better shape, but still do not have all their counties’ machines spitting out a paper record.
The International Monetary Fund believes that the world economy could grow 3.9% over "this year and next," the AP reports, which "would be the fastest since 2011."
But, but, but: The IMF's policymaking committee said "a strong world economy is threatened by increasing tension over trade and a heavy global debt load." Per the AP, the trade war between China and the U.S. could "drag down worldwide growth." Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin argued in favor of the administration, saying what drags down the global economy is "unfair global trade practices."
At least 37 people have been killed in protests in Gaza since its start in late March, the New York Times reports, and hundreds have been left "wounded by Israeli fire."
The big picture: While participation has waned slightly, the protests along the border separating Israel and Gaza have drawn thousands. Aaron David Miller, director of the Wilson Center's Middle East Program, said that these protests have "become the bloodiest since the 2014 war," and it's "likely to get even worse."
Kim Jong-un may have learned the art of dealing with President Trump: Give him a win — or at least what he thinks is a win, or can spin as a win.
Why it matters, via BBC:"The surprise announcement comes as North Korea prepares for historic talks with South Korea and the U.S.": Kim is due to meet his South Korean counterpart next week, and President Trump by June.
