Trump shares details of fiery call with Netanyahu after allegedly calling him 'f**king crazy'
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Israel
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Israel
United States President Donald Trump has revealed why he reportedly called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 'f*cking crazy' in a leaked phone call.
The phone call took place while the two world leaders were engaged in a heated phone call over Israel’s military operations in Lebanon on Monday (1 June).
According to US officials cited by Axios, Trump was furious that Israel’s escalation risked derailing ongoing US-Iran negotiations, after Iran threatened to walk away from the talks.
He also opposed Israeli plans to strike Beirut and warned Netanyahu that Israel was becoming increasingly isolated internationally.
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Trump reportedly told Netanyahu: "You’re f*cking crazy. 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."
Another source said Trump, who was 'p*ssed', also shouted: "What the f*ck are you doing?"
Trump later confirmed he had called Netanyahu 'crazy'.
"I don’t want to say angry," he told the New York Post’s Pod Force One in an interview that was published on Wednesday (3 June).
"I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon. You know, at some point, I said, 'Bibi, we gotta stop this. You gotta stop it.'"
Despite the expletive-filled phone call, Trump insisted his relationship with Netanyahu remains strong.
"I like Bibi a lot. And I’ve worked very well with him," he said. "I’m a wartime president. He’s a wartime prime minister. Very important part of the world. And I think we’ve done very well. We’ve gotten along very well together."
According to Axios, one official claimed this was one of Trump's worst calls with Netanyahu since he returned to office.
An Israeli official reportedly told the outlet that it no longer plans to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut.
Following the phone call, the 79-year-old Republican took to Truth Social, where he stated that the Iran talks were 'continuing, at a rapid pace'.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu released a statement after the call saying that he'd informed Trump that Israel would attack targets in Beirut if Hezbollah didn't stop attacking Israel and that Israel would continue its operations in southern Lebanon.
"Our position remains the same," he wrote.
However, Axios reports that a US official claimed that, in reality, Trump had 'steamrolled' Netanyahu during Monday's phone call.
"Bibi said, 'OK, OK, just make sure everything is taken care of,'" as per the official.
Tyla has reached out to the White House for comment.