In a joint press appearance Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out their proposed peace deal aimed at ending the Israeli occupation of Gaza — but left the room before taking a single question.
Critics had already begun pouncing on the plan for not even including leaders of Hamas, the group currently fighting Israel in Gaza and a key player in any potential resolution. But instead of addressing those concerns — or any others — Trump abruptly shut the door on press questions.
“So I think while we wait for these documents to be signed and get everybody in line, I think it maybe is not really appropriate to take questions,” Trump said, pivoting to a vague comment about upcoming meetings with Democrats. “I’m meeting with, as you know, a couple of Democrats in a little while about the country, about keeping our country open up. They’re going to have to do some things because their ideas are not very good ones. They’re very bad for our country. So we’ll see how that works out. But this is something that was really historic today. This was something that was amazing.”
The president then turned to Netanyahu: “I think maybe I mean, depending on you, I think while we’re waiting for signatures and waiting for approvals from a lot of different countries that are involved in this, we probably shouldn’t take questions. Or would you like to take a question or two from perhaps a friendly Israeli reporter, if there’s such a thing?”
Netanyahu, grinning, didn’t break rank. “That’s a very, very tough proposition,” he replied, drawing a few laughs from the press pool. “But I would think, Mr. President, that I would go by your instinct that this is a — we’ll have enough time for questions. Let’s settle the issue first, I think.”
And that was it.
The two leaders walked off, ignoring the cascade of shouted questions from frustrated journalists.
It was a strange end to what was billed as a major diplomatic moment. The proposed peace plan — already controversial — was rolled out without offering a platform for the press to dig into its substance, flaws, or viability. And without Hamas at the table, many analysts argue the entire proposal is dead on arrival.
But if there were tough questions to be asked, Monday wasn’t the day for answers.
Watch the clip below:
Trump: I think it maybe is not really appropriate to take questions. pic.twitter.com/iwFsmm9FAN
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 29, 2025
