Donald Trump thanks Mahmoud Abbas for concern after assassination attempt

Donald Trump told Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, that it was “so nice” to get his good wishes after Trump survived an assassination attempt, a notably friendly gesture ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long worked to marginalize Abbas.

“It is with grave concern that I have received news and later on watched footage of your attempted assassination,” Abbas wrote Trump on official letterhead in a letter dated July 14, one day after the shooting. “”Acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order.”

“Mahmoud — so nice — thank you — everything will be good,” Trump wrote in marker on Abbas’ letter, which Trump posted Tuesday evening on social media. “Best wishes, Donald Trump.”