Trump confirms Netanyahu to visit Washington next week

US President Donald Trump has confirmed ⁠that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the US next week.

Mr Netanyahu's office said earlier that he ⁠will travel to Washington DC on Monday and will meet with Mr ⁠Trump on Tuesday.

Mr Netanyahu will also attend deceased US Senator Lindsey Graham's funeral, his office said.

Mr Trump's comments came in his speech at a rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, three months after the event was disrupted by an assassination attempt.

In his speech, the US president lashed out at "fake news media" and talked about serving a banned third term.

"This place is really the largest group of Trump derangement syndrome people ever put together at one time," Mr Trump told the media gala at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington.

Mr Trump started with a relatively conciliatory tone, reflecting on the attack by a gunman that forced him to be evacuated from the dinner in April.

"The show must go on," he said.

But he quickly pivoted to attacking a wide range of perceived enemies in an often rambling speech, starting with journalists before training his fire on Democratic opponents.

Mr Trump had earlier thrown up his hands and laughed as he shook hands with a Wall Street Journal team that broke stories on his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

But he later joked that "this has not been an easy evening, all these awards", after journalists received prizes for their reporting on the Republican's second presidency.

Mr Trump also revived talk about serving a third term, which is barred under the US constitution, even as he insisted he was joking.

"Just like my presidency, the second time is always better. And the third time is better yet," Mr Trump said, before adding, "I'm only kidding".

He later doubled down, pulling out a red "Trump 2028" cap and saying he was "pleased to announce my intention to - and this is a somewhat of a scoop - my intention to run for a fourth term as president of the United States".

Mr Trump also cast US Senator Chuck Schumer as Palestinian.

"I am going to ‌send him [Schumer] a ⁠beautiful Palestinian outfit tomorrow, so he can greet Bibi Netanyahu when he comes to town next week," Mr Trump said.

"He turned Palestinian," Mr Trump said of Mr Schumer, who is Jewish, while also ‌joking that sharia law was Mr Schumer's "new founding".

US Muslim and Jewish advocacy ⁠groups have previously criticised Mr Trump for calling Schumer, ‌the top Senate Democrat, a Palestinian, with the rights ⁠groups ‌saying Trump uses the term disrespectfully as a slur and as an insult.

Much of Mr Trump's speech seemed to recycle his campaign-style rallies, with the president even jokingly lambasting his speech writers when some lines fell flat.

But he ended the hour-long speech by saying he had "tremendous respect" for the journalists in the room, while adding: "When I'm gone, you're all going to be broke."

Bad blood

Mr Trump, who was attending his first White House Correspondents Dinner after years of bad blood with the press, added that he planned to come next year too.

He returned amid heightened security, three months after an alleged assassination attempt forced his chaotic evacuation from the event after gunshots were fired at the Washington Hilton and the black-tie dinner was called off.

California man Cole Allen, 31, has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempting to kill the president.

This time, the US Secret Service took no chances. Police and National Guard officers sealed off nearby roads and threw up a major security cordon, although guests passing through faced only a cursory check.

The venue was changed from the Hilton to the Waldorf Astoria, a former Trump hotel, meaning the gala will be much smaller and "more intimate", according to organisers.

"Let's try this again," said CBS correspondent Weijia Jiang, the outgoing president of the White House Correspondents' Association, who presided over the previous dinner.

"Tonight our message is this: We are back. We will not be intimidated. We will not let an act of violence have the final word."

Incoming WHCA president Jacqui Heinrich said the event would return to the Washington Hilton next year.

'Threat picture'

US Secret Service Director Sean Curran was spotted standing in the entrance hall watching guests arrive, an AFP reporter saw.

Guests waited in a long line to show a QR code and their ID on the way into the atrium where the dinner was held.

Along with Mr Trump's speech, the rescheduled dinner included a performance by mentalist Oz Pearlman and a tribute to a Secret Service agent who helped stop the alleged gunman in April.

Mr Curran, the head of the Secret Service, defended security at the original event, telling reporters, "It did work, the system worked". He insisted a cordon had prevented the alleged attacker from reaching the main hall in April.

But Mr Curran, who was at Mr Trump's side when an assassin's bullet hit the Republican's ear at an election rally in 2024, said that current threats against top US officials were "off the charts".

"The threat picture and environment is as large as I've ever seen it," added Mr Curran.

The Trump-Netanyahu meeting will come as the US-Israeli war on Iran reaches five months in duration.