PALM BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — Ahead of the meeting between former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, authorities said security is a top priority for the area.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said preparations are underway for a smooth meeting between the two leaders.
“We’re well trained at this. We protected the president for four years here. We’ve never had a glitch,” he said.
Bradshaw said that despite the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, his office is ready for Netanyahu’s visit.
“There’s a lot of apprehension out here, I think, right now, about presidential visits and dignitaries, given what happened,” said Bradshaw.
Bradshaw said that when Netanyahu arrives on Friday, Southern Boulevard will be closed to get him from the airport to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
During that ride, demonstrators who wish to protest the visit will be allowed on both sides of the roadway, but the sheriff said there is one big limit.
“Don’t go in the road, folks. That’s a no-no, all right?” said Bradshaw. “I know some of the protesters like to shut roads down and make a statement. That ain’t gonna happen here. We’re not going to allow it.”
The sheriff’s comments about pro-Palestinian protesters come after some of the protests outside the U.S. Capitol turned destructive on Wednesday while Netanyahu was giving an address to a joint session of Congress.
Netanyahu continued his Washington, D.C., trip with a sit-down meeting with both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“From a proud Jewish Zionist to an Irish American Zionist, I want to thank you for 59 years of support for the state of Israel,” said Netanyahu.
The two leaders spoke about the latest efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel, a war that has killed thousands of Palestinians, with at least 100 Israelis still held captive.
“My message to Benjamin Netanyahu is very simple: go for the deal that would release all the hostages, along with a cease-fire. We need loved ones back home,” said Yehuda Cohen, the father of a hostage being held by Hamas.
As Netanyahu lands in Palm Beach on Friday, Trump had some advice to the prime minister.
“You have to end this fast. It can’t continue to go on like this. It’s too long,” said Trump in a Fox News interview.
The sheriff also said there will be correction vans set up in case anybody gets too rowdy or blocks the roads. He also praised the Secret Service and said he has the utmost confidence in the agency.
Meantime, ahead of the meeting, Democrats are highlighting a controversial comment that Trump’s vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, made several years ago.
In 2021, Vance made a comment on women without children that is raising eyebrows on social media.
“We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so, they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too,” said Vance on Fox News.
Another comment by Vance is also getting traction on social media, this one focused on parents in 2021.
“When you go to the polls in this country as a parent, you should have more power, you should have more of an availability to speak your voice in our democratic republic than people who don’t have kids. Let’s face the consequences and the reality,” he said.
The comments drew a rare rebuke from “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston, who said: “I truly can’t believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States. All I can say is Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too.”
Vance’s supporters said his comments are being taken out of context. His sister, Lindsay Lewis, posted a statement defending Vance. It read:
“JD was raised by some of the strongest women I know and went on to marry an incredibly strong woman in Usha. JD is a testament to the women in his life, and the attacks from the media and Democrats that assume anything otherwise is vile,” she wrote.
In addition, the Trump campaign told the media on Thursday that they are not going to commit to the September presidential debate until Democrats formally nominate a candidate at their convention.
That comment drew a response from Harris, who wrote on X, “What happened to any time, any place?”
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