Former U.S. president Donald Trump said on Thursday he would consider supporting Benjamin Netanyahu, as his once-close-ally seeks reelection in the upcoming Israeli polls, despite being "disappointed" in some ways by the former Israeli leader.
"I was disappointed with him in certain ways but overall I liked him very much," Trump told conservative news network Newsmax, as he seemed unaware the Jewish State was headed for another round of elections, its fifth in just under four years.
"If he ran, I would certainly give it some thought. We'll see what happens. I don't know that that's going to happen. He disappointed me in certain ways but he also did a very good job in other ways."
In two interviews he gave to the journalist Barak Ravid last year, the former Republican leader spoke about his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential elections — a loss which he disputes, citing fraud — and his relationship with Netanyahu.
Trump expressed his discontent with Netanyahu congratulating Biden on his victory, which he claimed was "still in dispute."
"The first person who congratulated was Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with… Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake," he said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
Trump claimed that, unlike Netanyahu, other leaders like Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not congratulate Biden right away because “they felt the election was rigged”.
According to Trump, Netanyahu's message came too early. “Early, okay? Let's use this. He was very early. Like earlier than most. I haven’t spoken to him since. Fuck him”, he says.
During his time in the White House, Trump handed Netanyahu a raft of achievements, including moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and Israeli West Bank settlements, and the Abraham Accords — a series of U.S.-brokered peace agreements between Jerusalem and several Muslim-majority countries which Netanyahu regards as his crowning achievement.