Trump commemorates Graham’s life — with sunny Netanyahu and Zelenskyy meetings

Trump commemorates Graham’s life — with sunny Netanyahu and Zelenskyy meetings The meetings between Trump and his Israeli and Ukrainian counterparts were closed-press, subdued affairs — with officials from all three countries offering upbeat readouts. 07/28/2026 06:21 PM EDT President Donald Trump may have given the late Sen. Lindsey Graham a parting gift on Tuesday. The president hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, a move many in Washington saw as a fitting tribute to a senator who was a fierce ally and advocate for both countries. And the two meetings, happening the morning of the late senator’s funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral, appear to have gone, well — well. Officials from all three countries offered sunny readouts of the meetings, and the high-stakes day proceeded without any obvious blowups or missteps. Zelenskyy and Trump discussed the top U.S. peace envoys visiting Kyiv, as well as the agreement they reached earlier this month on licenses to produce Patriot interceptor missiles. Netanyahu, in a video statement in Hebrew, described his meeting as “one of the best conversations” he’s had with Trump. While the ever-mercurial Trump could still easily unravel the good vibes with a Truth Social post, it is exactly the kind of readout Graham would have hoped for out of the meetings. Hours before his death, Graham was in Kyiv meeting with Zelenskyy and touring a local defense and drone manufacturing facility — and the late senator has long been one of Israel’s staunchest allies in Congress and was a strong supporter of the war in Iran. “He probably would take some satisfaction that his funeral was an occasion for such important high-level meetings on two major international crises,” said Daniel Shapiro, a U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. “Somewhere he’s probably smiling.” A senior Israeli official who accompanied Netanyahu to the meeting, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to discuss details of the meetings candidly, described the session as “extremely positive,” saying that it focused on “the key issues of the day, first and foremost Iran” and that the two leaders “reaffirmed their ironclad commitment to ensuring that Iran never has nuclear weapons.” A second person familiar with the meeting said Netanyahu indicated the meeting had gone well. Zelenskyy was similarly upbeat in his assessment of his confab with Trump. In a post on X, the Ukrainian president said the two men discussed the licenses for Patriots — which Trump announced at his last meeting with the Ukrainian president in Ankara earlier this month — along with “several other ideas” that could help Ukraine. And that meeting may have produced at least one deliverable: Special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are expected to soon visit Kyiv to renew diplomatic efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. A Ukrainian official said they “promised” to visit Kyiv; however, a White House official said the duo was supposed to be part of Graham’s final visit to Kyiv shortly before his death but couldn’t make it, and that they would like to make a future visit. A second top Ukrainian official said that negotiating teams will continue to work on ideas from the meeting. “It’s important that the diplomatic process be reinvigorated,” Zelenskyy said in his post. The White House affirmed the positive tone of the meetings, which were both subdued, closed-press affairs, perhaps a nod to the serious nature of the conversations. Each leader arrived via West Executive Avenue and entered through a side door, instead of a more public West Wing driveway arrival, avoiding the usual spectacle of an Oval Office visit. “President Trump has concluded his meetings in the Oval Office with President Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Netanyahu,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X just after noon on Tuesday. “Both meetings were positive and productive!” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attended both meetings, according to photos provided by the Israelis and Ukrainians. Vice President JD Vance joined only for the Netanyahu meeting, as his remarks at Graham’s memorial service at the Capitol conflicted with the Zelenskyy meeting. Whether the two meetings will significantly move the needle in either conflict — or will in the long-term prove to have been more perfunctory affairs, given the two leaders were already in town for Graham’s funeral — may not be known for days to come. The Ukrainians have been making progress against the Russians on the battlefield this year but need American resources. And Trump has been increasingly vocal about Netanyahu getting too aggressive in Lebanon as the Americans try to craft a lasting ceasefire. Trump’s America First allies, who are eager to see U.S. involvement in both wars end, were concerned ahead of the Netanyahu meeting that the Israeli prime minister would successfully talk Trump into diving deeper into the conflict. Indeed, some of those allies were disenchanted and disillusioned on Tuesday at what they saw as capitulation of their movement to an older, more globalist paradigm. “To me, this is like the ultimate betrayal of America First. These two visiting on the same day? Like, really? This is what we fought for. Not in my mind,” said one person close to the White House, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “In a weird way this is very reflective of who [Graham] was.” Trump acknowledged as much at the funeral, pointing out that the senator’s death brought together so many world leaders. “He had tremendous friendships all over the world,” Trump said. “It’s a testament to his towering impact that among those mourning him here today are leaders, presidents, prime ministers from all over the globe, sitting right here before you.” Both Trump and Netanyahu had political incentives going into the meeting — the U.S. midterm elections in November and the Israeli prime minister’s re-election in October — for trying to seem upbeat, especially in light of recent tension in the U.S.-Israel relationship, particularly over Lebanon. Gregory Brew, senior Iran and energy analyst at Eurasia Group, a political risk firm, was, for that reason, skeptical of the cheerful readout. “My gut is that the meeting wasn’t as decisive, or isn’t going to be as decisive,” Brew said. “Honestly, to me, that sounds like a readout that’s trying to say as little as possible. Like, agreeing that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon is boilerplate, right? It’s the most commonly used rhetorical device.” Shapiro was similarly hesitant to accept the positivity at face value, pointing to the number of areas in which the two leaders disagree. “It doesn’t mean they can’t work together, and find small openings for some progress on some of those files, but it does mean that there’s significant disagreement at the moment on several issues, and so I’m sure it was friendly, but that doesn’t mean it was a meeting of minds,” he said. “Netanyahu desperately wants Trump’s support for his re-election, and any sign of discord would hurt him so he’s going to portray this in as positive terms as possible.” Dasha Burns contributed to this report.