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Trump hosts Jordan's King Abdullah before heading to S.C. rally

By Ed Adamczyk
President Donald Trump meets with King Abdullah II in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. Photo by Olivier Douliery/UPI
1 of 4 | President Donald Trump meets with King Abdullah II in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. Photo by Olivier Douliery/UPI | License Photo

June 25 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump will welcome the king of Jordan to the White House on Monday before he heads for South Carolina to stump for a Republican who faces a runoff challenge this week.

King Abdullah II and Queen Rania are scheduled to arrive at the White House mid-Monday afternoon, when they will be greeted by the president. The king will then hold a bilateral meeting with Trump.

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The meeting is expected to be an attempt to influence the United States' Middle East peace plan, which could be presented within weeks.

The visit comes less than a week after Abdullah hosted White House adviser Jared Kushner in the Jordanian capital of Amman. The king also met last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss U.S. plans for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Abdullah has urged the Trump administration to endorse a two-state solution, which includes a sovereign Palestinian state as part the deal. Trump has not yet endorsed the idea, but has said previously he supports a two-state solution if both sides want it.

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After Abdullah's visit, Trump will travel late in the afternoon to South Carolina to rally for Gov. Henry McMaster, who faces businessman John Warren in a gubernatorial runoff vote Tuesday.

McMaster received 53,000 more votes than Warren in the five-person June 12 GOP primary, but Warren has surged in polls in recent weeks.

Last week, Warren said Trump "would not be coming here if it wasn't close."

Trump has attended multiple rallies in recent weeks to aid Republican candidates ahead of the fall's key midterm elections. Saturday, he stumped for Sen Dean Heller in Las Vegas. Wednesday, he spoke at a rally in Minnesota.

McMaster is seeking his first full term as governor. He was the state's lieutenant governor under former Gov. Nikki Haley, and ascended to the post when she left to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in Trump's administration.

Warren has attempted to tie McMaster to two scandals -- the collapse of a $9 billion nuclear power project, and the indictment of GOP political consultant Richard Quinn in a corruption probe.

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