Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum claimed during an Oct. 10 segment that President Joe Biden hasn’t invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.
Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum: “[Netanyahu] hasn’t even been invited to the White House which is unprecedented, I think, in presidential U.S. history.”
Biden invited Bibi to the White House last month during their bilateral meeting in NYC. https://t.co/1PIvq6WPhL pic.twitter.com/gfR9zw3Xuy
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 10, 2023
Verdict: False
Biden invited Netanyahu invited to the White House after a September meeting, according to a White House readout and multiple media reports.
Fact Check:
Biden called Hamas attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,000 Israelis and 14 American citizens, “an act of sheer evil,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Biden also urged Netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties as Israel continues to pound Gaza with airstrikes, NBC News reported.
MacCallum claimed during a segment that Biden hadn’t invited Netanyahu to the White House. MacCallum said, “It appears that the White House has allowed their feelings about Bibi Netanyahu…to impede them from having an open dialogue with him and showing support for him that would be strengthening the U.S.-Israeli alliance. [Netanyahu] hasn’t even been invited to the White House which is unprecedented, I think, in presidential U.S. history.”
This claim is false. A White House spokesperson referred Check Your Fact to a Sept. 20 readout about Biden’s meeting with Netanyahu in New York City. The readout states, “Finally, President Biden invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to Washington D.C. before the end of the year to continue direct collaboration on this broad range of issues.”
The Washington Post reported that Biden had invited Netanyahu to the White House. If Biden had not extended the invitation to Netanyahu, the Israeli leader would have been the first “Israeli premier” since 1969 to not visit the White House in their first year of being elected to a term, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Hamas Official Falsely Claims Group Did Not Kill Any Civilians)
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office said in a Sept. 20 press release that “President Biden invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to an additional meeting, at the White House, before the end of the year.” Biden told Netanyahu at the start of the meeting that “I hope to see you in Washington by the end of the year,” according to Axios.
Netanyahu and Biden discussed Israel’s normalization talks with Saudi Arabia, the prime minister’s controversial judicial changes and the West Bank, Axios reported. Axios also reported that “U.S. officials said this was simply an invitation in principle and that no dates have been finalized.”
Check Your Fact reached out to Netanyahu’s office and a Fox News spokesperson for comment and will update this article if responses are provided.