Document 14DNpqmOm3xDpVkdB8Z5O66o

Trump said hello to Friedman's wife and said, "Are you proud of your man? He got what he wanted." TRUMP spoke at the top of the 6 a.m. hour for about three minutes. Trump said he has "new reason for hope" in his travels. He closed by saying: "We love Israel. We respect Israel and I send your people the warmest greetings from your friend and ally -- all of the people in the United States of America. We are with you. Thank you and God bless you." TRUMP MADE HISTORY overnight, flying Air Force One between Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Tel Aviv -- the first public direct flight between the two countries. POLITICO's Annie Karni was along for the ride on AF1. Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relationship, but have been inching toward each other in recent years. See Bloomberg's Alan Levin, Margaret Talev and Jonathan Ferziger https://bloom.bg/2r8jfNP NO LONGER ON THE TRIP: Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon and Wilbur Ross, per Annie's pool report. SPOTTED at the welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv: Gary Cohn, Jared and Ivanka, Sean Spicer, H.R. McMaster, Jason Greenblatt, Hope Hicks, Dina Powell and Stephen Miller. (h/t Annie Karni's pool report) REX TILLERSON told reporters on Air Force One during the flight to Ben Gurion International Airport: "The wall is part of Jerusalem." This is Tillerson's first trip to Israel. -- TRUMP'S DAY IN ISRAEL: Trump then meets with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin before heading to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem and the Western Wall. He meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu around 6 p.m. (11 a.m. in Washington) and has dinner at his residence. Melania Trump and Sara Netanyahu are going to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. BIBI'S REALITY -- "Preparations for Trump's Visit Expose Political Rifts in Israel," by NYT's Isabel Kershner: "An infuriated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to order his ministers to attend the airport welcome ceremony, the Hebrew daily newspaper Haaretz reported, after he learned that most of them were planning to skip it because there was no time scheduled for Mr. Trump to shake their hands on the tarmac. "Mr. Netanyahu also had to wrestle much of Sunday in a closed cabinet meeting with right-wing ministers of his coalition to win approval of even modest gestures meant to encourage the Palestinian economy and ease conditions in the West Bank and elsewhere. The confidence-building measures were aimed as much at convincing Mr. Trump of the Israelis' commitment to seek an agreement as they were intended for the Palestinians. Mr. Trump has said that he wants to seal the 'ultimate deal' to resolve the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an ambitious goal that has so far eluded two generations of American presidents and numerous international mediators." http://nyti.ms/2rsMN8w -- ANOTHER INTERESTING NUGGET from the NYT: "In another twist, the Americans requested Sunday that a dinner to be hosted by Israel's defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, on Monday for senior members of the American delegation be canceled. The guests were to include Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson; Mr. Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump; and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. No reason was given for the cancellation." -- THE CONVERSATION about striking a peace deal in the Middle East has been mostly centered on the difficulties U.S. negotiators face. But Netanyahu has, perhaps, one of the trickiest political situations to consider. His right flank will likely be skeptical of any peace deal. THE LONG TRIP -- @jeffzeleny: "Asked about line in speech today when Trump said Islamic instead of Islamist, a senior White House official said: 'He's an exhausted guy.'" HEALTH CARE, SENATE STYLE -- "McConnell steps into Obamacare firing line," by Burgess Everett and Jen Haberkorn: "Mitch McConnell has sidestepped the Russia controversy that's dogged Donald Trump all year and eluded the wrath rained down on Paul Ryan over the GOP's Obamacare repeal effort. But the health care reform battle is now squarely in McConnell's court: He will decide the contents of the Senate's plan, most likely behind closed doors. And he is on the hook for getting something through a sharply divided Senate Republican Conference in the midst of an increasingly imperiled presidency. ... "So far, McConnell has led a series of closed-door meetings with senators, where they've mainly aired their grievances with the House bill without making substantive progress, according to attendees. In the coming days, McConnell will have to move to break the impasse. ... McConnell (R-Ky.) is handling the situation so far in his typically cautious manner, feeling out his conference but offering no positions of his own. A 13-