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The dinner comes as Israel and Hamas hold indirect talks for a potential ceasefire and hostage deal.
The 90-day negotiating period on trade was set to expire on July 9, causing tariffs to increase from the baseline 10 percent rate to the higher levels set by Trump on April 2.
Japan and South Korea received letters Monday from the president informing them of a 25 percent import tax on all goods from their countries starting August 1. Leavitt said approximately 12 other countries will receive letters imminently.
Trump also has reignited the feud with Elon Musk, his former friend, ally and patron, over his threat to set up a third political party in the United States.
In a lengthy Truth Social tirade on Sunday, Trump said Musk has gone “off the rails” in recent weeks and become a “trainwreck.”
Where does the Israel-Hamas war stand ahead of Trump-Netanyahu dinner?
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to have dinner at the White House Monday evening.
Israeli troops have been in Gaza since Hamas launched a deadly attack on its Middle Eastern neighbor on October 7, 2023.
Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 251 more hostage in its surprise attack. More than half of the hostages have been returned, eight have been rescued and dozens have been recovered dead, the Associated Press reported.
More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, the AP reported, citing Gaza’s Health Ministry. Gazans are facing prolonged food shortages with nearly half a million in a “catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death,” the World Health Organization reported in May.
A temporary ceasefire deal was agreed to in January but broken nearly two months later. Trump has been trying to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday afternoon: "The utmost priority for the president right now in the Middle East is to end the war in Gaza and to return all of the hostages.”
“There was a ceasefire proposal that Israel supports, that was sent to Hamas. We hope that they will agree to this proposal,” Leavitt said.
Israel and Hamas were set to hold indirect peace talks in Qatar for a second day on Monday, Reuters reported early Monday morning.
Rachel Dobkin7 July 2025 22:00
Bernie Sanders rips into Trump-Netanyahu dinner, calls Israeli PM 'war criminal'
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, criticized a scheduled dinner between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday evening.
“Today, a war criminal under indictment from the ICC [International Criminal Court] will be welcomed to the White House,” Sanders wrote on X Monday afternoon. “Trump, like [former President Joe] Biden before him, has aided and abetted the extremist Netanyahu government as it has systematically killed and starved civilians in Gaza.”
The senator called Monday “a shameful day in America.”
Netanyahu has vehemently denied committing war crimes in Gaza.
Rachel Dobkin7 July 2025 21:45
Democratic voters are demanding reps fight dirty against Trump and MAGA: ‘There needs to be blood’
Democratic voters are fed up with their representatives taking the moral high ground against President Donald Trump and the GOP, with some reportedly suggesting they should be willing to “get shot” in order to oppose the administration.
"Our own base is telling us that what we're doing is not good enough ... [that] there needs to be blood to grab the attention of the press and the public," one anonymous Democrat told Axios.
The outlet spoke to more than two dozen House Democrats, many of whom said their constituents had demanded extreme measures and even violence in order to exact change.
"Some of them have suggested ... what we really need to do is be willing to get shot" when visiting ICE facilities or other federal agencies, another lawmaker told Axios.
Read more from Mike Bedigan:
Rachel Dobkin7 July 2025 21:30
U.S. stocks fall after new Trump tariff threats
U.S. stocks fell after President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs ranging from 25 to 40 percent on countries on Monday.
Here’s where the major stock indexes were at the closing bell, according to MarketWatch:
- The S&P 500 was down 0.87 percent
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped roughly 422 points
- The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.92 percent
In a batch of letters sent Monday, Trump threatened the following countries with steep tariffs starting August 1:
- South Korea - 25 percent
- Japan - 25 percent
- Malaysia – 25 percent
- Kazakhstan – 25 percent
- South Africa – 30 percent
- Laos – 40 percent
- Myanmar – 40 percent
Rachel Dobkin7 July 2025 21:15
Watch: Leavitt address MAGA anger over Epstein files
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the anger from MAGA over the Epstein files at today’s press briefing. Watch the clip below.
Rhian Lubin7 July 2025 21:00
Trump says tariffs are 'necessary' as he justifies slapping nations with taxes
President Donald Trump has justified the tariffs in his letters to nations as he attempts to cement trade deals.
“Please understand that these Tariffs are necessary to correct the many years of ... Tariff, and Non Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers, causing these unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States. This Deficit is a major threat to our Economy and, indeed, our National Security!” he says in the letters.
American stock markets lost ground in trading on Monday after the president’s announcement, with the S&P 500 index falling 0.9 percent in the first day of trading in the U.S. after a holiday-shortened week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 526 points, or 1.2 percent, as of midday.
The Nasdaq composite was 1 percent lower as well.
Andrew Feinberg, Rhian Lubin7 July 2025 20:30
Trump hits countries with tariffs ranging from 25 – 40 percent
Trump has threatened to hit countries in his latest batch of letters with tariffs ranging from 25 – 40 percent.
The letters are similar in tone and try to persuade nations to move production to the U.S.
Trump writes that if any of the countries hit back with their own tariffs, the administration will retaliate.
“If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25% that we charge,” the letter to Malaysia reads.
This is what Trump has threatened Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos and Myanmar:
Malaysia – 25 percent
Kazakhstan – 25 percent
South Africa – 30 percent
Laos – 40 percent
Myanmar – 40 percent
Rhian Lubin7 July 2025 20:00
World leaders are 'begging' Trump to make a deal, Leavitt claims
Karoline Leavitt claimed world leaders are “begging” President Donald Trump to make a trade deal after he pushed the negotiation deadline back by nearly three weeks.
Leavitt was asked at Monday’s briefing if Trump was “at all concerned” that countries receiving the letters “won’t take them seriously because the deadline seems to have shifted already and may shift again.”
“They will take the letters seriously because they have taken the president seriously,” Leavitt responded.
“That’s why the president’s phone rings off the hook from world leaders all the time, who are begging him to come to a deal.”
Rhian Lubin7 July 2025 19:40
New: Trump posts letters to leaders of Malaysia, Laos, South Africa, Kazakhstan & Myanmar
President Donald Trump has posted copies of the letters sent to the leaders of Malaysia, Laos, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Myanmar informing them of the tariffs he will impose on imports to the U.S.
The tariffs range from 25 – 40 percent.
The president shared the letters on Truth Social Monday afternoon.
Rhian Lubin7 July 2025 19:24
Tariff deadline pushed back again despite '90 deals in 90 days' pledge
President Donald Trump is signing an executive order on Monday to delay that tariff increase deadline by roughly three weeks to Aug. 1, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the news briefing.
The 90-day negotiating period on trade was set to expire on July 9, causing tariffs to increase from the baseline 10% rate to the generally higher levels set by Trump on April 2. But the order would allow the new rates being announced by Trump on Monday and Tuesday to be imposed starting on Aug 1.
Trump posted letters to the leaders of South Korea and Japan saying imports of their goods will be taxed at 25 percent. Leavitt said approximately a dozen other countries will receive letters.
Rhian Lubin, AP7 July 2025 19:00
