President Donald Trump repeatedly swore at his war ally in a heated phone showdown.
Trump lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Monday after demanding Israel agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
At one point, he even claimed that his personal intervention has kept the unpopular leader out of prison.
The wild conversation was reported by Axios on Monday, quoting a U.S. official.
“You’re f---ing crazy,” Trump reportedly told Netanyahu. “You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your a--. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”
A second source who had been briefed on the contents of the extreme call also claimed Trump was “p---ed,” and yelled at Netanyahu, “What the f--- are you doing?”
The U.S. official told the publication that Trump believed Netanyahu had escalated the attacks on Hezbollah in a “disproportionate” way, which in turn had jeopardized American efforts to lock in a ceasefire extension with Iran.
Hezbollah is a militant group based in Lebanon with military alliances with anti-Israel regimes in Iran. It is considered a terrorist organization in the U.S.
A different official claimed Trump was worried over the number of civilians killed in Lebanon by Israel, and objected to the number of buildings destroyed in order to wipe out a single Hezbollah commander.
According to a second U.S. official quoted by Axios, Trump “steamrolled” Netanyahu on the call, with the Israeli leader stating, “‘OK, OK, just make sure everything is taken care of’.”
Trump’s peace plan with Iran hit a hurdle after Tehran suspended negotiations over Israel’s actions in Lebanon. Iran denied reports last week that a peace deal was close, and has insisted any plan with the U.S. must also cover Lebanon.
The report follows differing recollections of the call posted by both leaders on social media.
Trump made two posts about his conversation with Netanyahu, posted five hours apart.
The first said the call was “very productive,” and that no troops would be sent to Beirut. Any that were on the way “have already been turned back,” the president continued.
Trump added that he also communicated with Hezbollah who “agreed that all shooting will stop—That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.“
In comparison, Netanyahu posted on X two and a half hours later on Monday, saying he had told Trump “if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and citizens—Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut.”
He added, “This position of ours remain unchanged,” and said the IDF will continue to operate “as planned” in southern Lebanon.
Trump then posted again, attempting damage control, repeating his conversations with Netanyahu and representatives for Hezbollah, adding “Let’s see how long that lasts—Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!"
Speaking on CNN soon after the news of the profane conversation broke, the network’s Chief Political Analyst David Axelrod told OutFront host Erin Burnett, “It doesn’t sound like a very friendly call.”
However, Axelrod believed Trump’s “analysis” was correct, claiming Netanyahu has “done tremendous damage” to Israel’s standing in the world.
The analyst claimed Trump was “really mad” about Netanyahu talking him into thinking that starting the war in Iran was “a good idea.”
He said the Israeli leader has created a “huge political problem” for Trump because of the war’s impact on the cost of living.
“The economy is the thing that is on the minds of Americans, and he has made it worse and he promised to make it better. And that was his calling card. He was Mr Economy, and now their costs are going up and we‘re mired in this war.”
Axelrod also pointed out that the rising costs of oil and grocery prices related to Trump’s war are not going down any time soon.
“The president has created a huge problem for himself,” Axelrod said. “He over-rode the concerns of some of his advisers who told him what ‘What Bibi Netanyahu is telling you is not true. It‘s not going to be easy to topple the regime, certainly not without boots on the ground. The Strait of Hormuz is a concern.’”
“He overrode those concerns,” Axelrod added. “So it‘s very clear to me why he‘s angry at him and he may be looking for someone to blame.”
