Obama Unlikely to Watch Netanyahu Speech Tuesday

Uriel Sinai/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Amid frustration with a speech that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to give to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, President Obama is unlikely to watch, the White House says.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said as much during Monday’s press briefing. “I haven’t looked at the president’s schedule for tomorrow,” Earnest admitted, while saying that he “[doubts] he will want to spend his whole time watching the speech.”

Netanyahu was invited to give the speech by House Speaker John Boehner, without consulting with the administration. That fact bothered some Democrats, who also have voiced concern about the speech coming so near Netanyahu’s bid for reelection.

Netanyahu has voiced concerns over ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran, a topic on which Earnest warned against releasing information. “Releasing that information would betray the trust that exists between two allies,” he said Monday.

Earnest noted that the White House has kept Israel apprised of the Iran negotiations, and that the administration was not particularly happy with the instances in which Israeli officials have chosen to “cherry pick” tidbits of information to criticize the U.S. stance.

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