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Former U.S. President Donald Trump offered Jordan’s King Abdullah II the West Bank during his presidency, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
“I thought I was having a heart attack,” the Jordanian monarch told an American friend, according to a new book entitled The Divider: Trump in the White House 2017-2021 penned by The New York Times’ White House correspondent Peter Baker and The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser that was obtained by The Washington Post.
The book, set to be released on September 20, details Trump’s unorthodox presidency and apparent disregard for the political norms of his office.
Covering topics from Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to another possible bid for the presidency in 2024, the book also included an incident in January 2018 when the Republic leader suddenly called King Abdullah II to offer him a “great deal”: to take control of the West Bank.
Control of the West Bank is one of the main points of contention between Israel and the Palestinians who seek the territory as part of a future state. Israel took over the region from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Hashemite Kingdom itself wrested control over the territory in 1950 in the wake of the war surrounding Israel's creation.
“I couldn’t breath,” Abdullah allegedly said after hearing what Trump offered. “I was bent doubled-over.”