Netanyahu at the White House: 'We Will Eliminate the Trade Deficit With the United States' — Trump: 'Direct Talks With Iran' (April 7, 2025)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the White House with a promise on trade. “I can tell you that I said to the President a very simple thing: We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. We intend to do it very quickly,” Netanyahu said in the Oval Office on April 7, 2025, according to the transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

“And I think Israel can serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same,” Netanyahu said [1].

The video above shows Trump and Netanyahu in the Oval Office on April 7, 2025. Quotes are from the American Presidency Project [1][2][3].

”A Great, Great Champion of Our Alliance”

“I would say that I’m by far the best President that Israel has ever even thought of seeing, and it’s an honor to be so,” Trump said [1].

“You’ve been a remarkable friend of the State of Israel. You stand by us. You’re standing with us. You are a great, great champion of our alliance,” Netanyahu told him [1].

“And you actually do the things that you say you do, and I think that people respect that enormously,” Netanyahu said [1].

He also thanked Trump for his representative at the Justice Department “fighting anti-Semitism, standing up for Israel in international forums.” [1]

“Free Trade Has to Be Fair Trade”

“And you know, I’m a free-trade champion, and free trade has to be fair trade,” Netanyahu said [1].

“We’re not talking about intentions. We’re not talking about, you know, just words. We’re talking about results,” he said [1].

Asked whether tariffs would push trading partners toward China, Trump said: “They want to be in the hands of the U.S. They don’t want to be in the hands of the Chinese.” [1]

“We’ve been ripped off and taken advantage of by many countries over the years and can’t do it anymore. We just can’t do it anymore. We can’t be the stupid people anymore,” Trump said [1].

”Direct Talks With Iran”

Trump made news. “We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started. It will go on Saturday. We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen,” he said [1].

“And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” Trump said [1].

Asked at what level, he said: “High level. Very high level, yes.” [1]

“Look, we’re both united in the goal that Iran does not ever get nuclear weapons. If it can be done diplomatically in a full way, the way it was done in Libya, I think that would be a good thing,” Netanyahu said. “But whatever happens, we have to make sure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons.” [1]

“We Want to Get Them All Out”

“I speak to the families. I spoke to them yesterday,” Netanyahu said. “I speak to them every day. They’re in agony.” [1]

“The hostages are in agony, and we want to get them all out,” Netanyahu said [1].

“Steve Witkoff, who is President Trump’s very able representative, helped us get a deal that got 25 out. We’re working now on another deal that we hope will succeed,” he said [1].

“And we’re committed to getting all the hostages out, but also eliminating the evil tyranny of Hamas in Gaza,” Netanyahu said [1].

”I Happen to Like Him”

Asked about Turkey’s role in Syria, Trump said: “Well, I have great relations with a man named Erdoğan. Have you heard of him?” [1]

“I happen to like him, and he likes me,” Trump said [1].

He said he told Netanyahu: “Bibi, if you have a problem with Turkey, I really think I’m going to be able to work it out.” [1]

By the Numbers

25: hostages freed in an earlier deal, per Netanyahu [1].
2 years: the hostages spent in captivity, per Trump [3].
20: living hostages freed in October 2025, per Trump [3].
28: more hostages “coming home at last to rest in this sacred soil,” per Trump [3].

What Happened Next

Then came the strikes. On June 21, 2025, Trump announced U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. “Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success,” he said. “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.” [2]

The hostages came home. “After 2 harrowing years in darkness and captivity, 20 courageous hostages are returning to the glorious embrace of their families; and it is glorious,” Trump told Israel’s Knesset on Oct. 13, 2025 [3].

“And let me also convey my tremendous appreciation for all of the nations of the Arab and Muslim world that came together to press Hamas to set the hostages free and to send them home,” Trump said [3].

“This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East,” he said [3].

“This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God,” Trump said [3].

Of Netanyahu, he said: “He’s not the easiest guy to deal with, but that’s what makes him great.” [3]

For Trump on Iran with Italy’s Giorgia Meloni 10 days later, see HYGO News’ page on April 17, 2025. For Trump on the Abraham Accords, see the page on April 24, 2025.