بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The Humiliating Visit of Jordan’s King to America
By: Ustaadh Khaled Al-Hakim
Before King Abdullah of Jordan departed for a working visit to Britain and the United States on Thursday, February 6, 2025, Trump had reiterated his pressure on him during a phone call to accept more Palestinians. He added to reporters, “I said to him that I’d love you to take on more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess.” The visit was preceded by a series of calls the Jordanian king made with several Arab leaders and the UN Secretary-General, during which he emphasized his rejection of Palestinian displacement and the need to keep them on their land. This came after coordination with Egypt’s Sisi and Saudi Arabia’s MBS (Bin Salman). Meanwhile, Trump had already halted U.S. aid to Jordan and suspended funding for USAID projects in the country.
Given that this visit and the meeting with Trump, laden with risks, held pivotal and existential importance for the Jordanian regime, a preparatory consultation visit to his overseer, Britain, was deemed necessary. This was despite King Abdullah having visited Britain just three months earlier, meeting King Charles on both occasions, as well as Prime Minister Starmer and others. As usual, the details of these visits to Britain, the “house of obedience” since Jordan’s inception, remained undisclosed. It was implicitly understood that this was a visit to receive new orders related to emerging issues, particularly those of critical significance.
On Tuesday, February 11, 2025, Abdullah met Trump with a wide smile at the White House doorstep before their talks began. They had agreed to avoid a press conference to sidestep embarrassment. However, Trump, fully aware of Abdullah’s subservience to Britain and his prior visit there, flung the doors wide open for photographers and journalists to enter the meeting room and pose questions that would embarrass the king. These questions exposed the weakness of his rhetoric behind closed doors with American leaders, compared to his public stance before the media and his people—and so it unfolded.
This article cannot fully cover the media exchanges, particularly the efforts of Jordan’s official media to spin and mend, the king’s stance. However, it’s worth highlighting some undisputed statements from the conversation between him and Trump:
Trump: “We’ve had some quick discussions just now, and we’re going to have some longer discussions after this... But I think I’ve been closer than other presidents to Jordan and what Jordan represents, and it’s an honor to have you and your son with us today. And if you’d like to say a few words and thank you very much.”
King Abdullah: “Mr. President, I truly believe that with all the challenges that we have in the Middle East that I finally see somebody that can take us across the finish line to bring stability, peace and prosperity to all of us in the region.”
Reporter: “Mr. President, why should the king take in the Palestinian people? He’s made clear he doesn’t want to.”
Trump: “Well, I don’t know, but he may have just something to say because we discussed it just briefly. I think maybe you want to say it now, or?”
King Abdullah: “Well, Mr. President, I think we have to keep in mind that there is a plan from Egypt and the Arab countries. We’re being invited by Mohammed bin Salman to discussions in Riyadh. I think the point is how to make this work in a way that is good for everybody. Obviously, we have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, especially to my people of Jordan. And we’re going to have some interesting discussions today. I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children that are either cancer children or in a very ill state to Jordan as quickly as possible and then wait for, I think, the Egyptians to present their plan on how we can work with the president to work on all the challenges.”
Trump: “And that’s really a beautiful gesture. That’s really good, and we appreciate it. And we’ll be working on the rest. With Egypt, I think you’re going to see some great progress. I think with Jordan you’re going to see some great progress... And the Palestinians, or the people that live now in Gaza, will be living beautifully in another location. They’re going to be living safely.”
Reporter: “Mr. President, you were saying that Palestinians will live somewhere else safe. Where exactly do you want them to live?”
Trump: “Well, it’s not where I want them to live. It’s going to be where we ultimately choose as a group. And I believe we’ll have a parcel of land in Jordan. I believe we’ll have a parcel of land in Egypt.”
Reporter: “And is there a parcel of land in Jordan that you’re willing to have Palestinians take?”
King Abdullah: “Well, I think what we said... And, again, I believe that the president is looking forward to getting a group of us Arabs here to discuss the overall plan.”
Thus, unfolded the open meeting, followed by extended consultations in the same context, which revealed the stress and shock that struck the king due to Trump’s surprise move. Trump forced him into silence and prevented a response, especially at the moment when Trump declared there would be a piece of land in Jordan, to which Gaza’s people would be displaced. At that point, the king’s tongue should have firmly declared, “No, that won’t happen.” But how could he, when he was busy flattering Trump as the one who would bring peace, while prioritizing America’s interests over those of his own country?
The welcoming messages for the king that some Jordanians expressed, orchestrated and incentivized by state agencies, carried an underlying sentiment: “If you’re sincere in saying your people’s interests come first, that requires real, practical measures.” It became clear to them that America is the primary enemy of the people of Jordan, Palestine, and all the region’s peoples. The interests of Jordan’s people demand canceling the joint defense agreement with the U.S., closing its military bases, expelling its troops, rejecting its colonialist aid, and instead investing Jordan’s vast resources. Moreover, sincerity in serving Jordan’s people requires nullifying the Wadi Araba Treaty with the Jewish entity, and all agreements with it; indeed, declaring a state of war against it. Jordanians now believe that fighting the Jews and expelling them from Palestine is the practical and Shariah solution to the Palestinian issue, whilst not recognizing them over any part of it. This is especially after witnessing the heroism of Gaza’s mujahideen and their steadfastness, which humiliated the Jewish entity and shattered the illusion of its strength.
Relying on the rulers of Egypt and Saudi Arabia in talks with Trump, citing a joint Arab plan, is a surrender to America’s schemes. Perhaps this is what America wants from the rejected displacement narrative, and raising the stakes to the unreasonable: acceptance of liquidating the Palestinian cause through a new American plan executed by its agents in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the region. Arab rulers only gather to conspire against their peoples. It would have been far better for them to unite to break free from the shackles of Western colonialist kufr and cease their servitude to this or that power, divided as they are by Sykes-Picot. Yet they fail to learn from the fate of the tyrants who preceded them.
Conclusion: Restoring our dignity, which was violated by the King of Jordan and his previous and current peers, lies in restoring the Khilafah (Caliphate) that ruled the world with its justice and mercy. Its Khaleefah wrote: “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, from Harun, Commander of the Faithful, to Nicephorus, dog of the Romans: I have read your letter, O son of an infidel woman. The response is what you will see, not what you hear. Peace.” This is the discourse the Ummah awaits from its forthcoming Khalifah, Allah (swt) willing, addressing Trump and the leaders of the Jews.
[وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * بِنَصْرِ اللهِ]
“And on that day, the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah” [TMQ Surah Ar-Rum 4-5].