Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump that he was the 鈥済reatest friend Israel ever had in the White House.”
Now, as Trump tries to finalize a deal to end the war with Iran, he’s unloading on Netanyahu with rhetoric that no other American leader has dared to use publicly.
He claimed credit for Israel’s existence 鈥� 鈥渨ithout me, there would be no Israel鈥� 鈥� and cursed his judgment in interviews. He even described him as
Netanyahu鈥檚 tenure as prime minister spans four U.S. presidents, and he’s frustrated all of them at one point or another. But none has voiced that as openly as Trump, who started the conflict
The tension comes as Trump criticizes recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which threatened to jeopardize negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Trump has been pushing for a deal as he faces political blowback at home, where the war is unpopular and has driven up gasoline prices.
鈥淚f Netanyahu gets in between something Trump really wants, and that鈥檚 out of this war, he鈥檚 prepared to use the leverage that he has,鈥� said Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Middle East issues to Democratic and Republican administrations over two decades.
An agreement is scheduled to be signed on Friday in Geneva. Speaking on Tuesday at the annual G7 summit in France, Trump said he told Netanyahu that he’s been unhappy with his recent moves.
鈥淲ithout the U.S., there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other President was willing to do what I did,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淚 have had a great relationship with Bibi. Now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.鈥�
There has long been a bipartisan consensus around supporting Israel in Washington, but that has Liberals have been increasingly outraged by Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, especially during the war in Gaza, and conservatives have questioned the importance of longstanding American support for Israel. There are on the left and the right.
Trump鈥檚 latest comments drew swift criticism from left-leaning groups.
鈥淗e is framing Israel鈥檚 mere existence as contingent on him,鈥� said Halie Soifer, who leads the Jewish Democratic Council of America. 鈥淚t鈥檚 deeply offensive to the vast majority of Jews who care about Israel鈥檚 future.鈥�
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris often disagreed with Netanyahu during the war in Gaza, and sometimes they criticized him publicly. But they were more circumspect to avoid facing accusations of being anti-Israel.
Conservative, pro-Israel groups were divided on the seriousness of Trump鈥檚 public condemnation of Netanyahu.
Republican Jewish Coalition President Matt Brooks described Trump鈥檚 criticism as little more than the inevitable disagreement among family members.
Brooks dismissed that any muted criticism of Trump鈥檚 comments from his party represented a political mixed message because Trump has been reliably supportive of Israel as president.
鈥淚f Biden or Harris said something critical, it came from the position of someone who was hostile toward or didn鈥檛 have the same level of support for Israel that President Trump has,鈥� Brooks said.
He noted the first Trump administration鈥檚 role in moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza during the president鈥檚 second term, among other acts.
Biden had criticized Netanyahu鈥檚 handling of the war in Gaza, though Trump鈥檚 criticism of Netanyahu comes with a 鈥渢remendous reservoir of goodwill on this issue that neither Biden nor Harris ever had.鈥�
Conservative, pro-Israel advocate Mort Klein said Trump should have kept the comments private, especially in light of his public praise over the years of authoritarian leaders in Turkey, North Korea and China.
Klein, president of Zionist Organization of America, said he worried that Trump was making the comments in public to appeal to Israel critics 鈥渂ecause he sees that Americans have become more hostile toward Israel than they鈥檝e ever been.鈥�
鈥淭hat worries me,鈥� Klein said.
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