U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday overnight that both he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are “war heroes.” Speaking to conservative commentator Mark Levin, a close Netanyahu ally, Trump said, “Nobody cares, but I am too. I sent those planes,” referring to the strike on Iran.
He added, “Bibi [Netanyahu’s nickname], he’s a good man, he’s in there fighting—you know they’re trying to put him in jail on top of everything else, how about that?”
U.S. President Donald Trump's talk with Mark Levin
To bolster his claim of heroism, Trump cited the operation against Iran, asserting, “We wiped out Iran’s entire nuclear capability overnight, which they’d have used against Israel in two seconds if they’d had the chance—but we took it out. Iran was four weeks from a nuclear bomb.”
He stressed, “I sent those planes. You know, 22 years. The pilots came, I rewarded them, I brought them all into the Oval Office, the people having to do with that operation, which was so perfect.”
On efforts to free hostages, Trump said he and Netanyahu “worked hard,” noting, “We got all these hostages back. I’ve had so many letters from parents, and from the kids themselves, and from the people who got out. But I got them back. None of these people would’ve been back, but I got them back.”
He acknowledged the criticism both face, adding that Hamas “never intended to return a single hostage. I told them two weeks ago, and I’ve said it for a long time, that eventually you’ll have to fight with full force. Everyone’s forgotten October 7; they don’t like talking about it.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
( Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
Trump then turned to domestic politics, renewing his attack on Democrats and labeling Jewish Senator Chuck Schumer a “Palestinian,” saying, “It’s amazing. He’s now the Palestinian senator. We call him the Palestinian senator from New York City.”
Closing the interview, Levin thanked Trump for his backing of Israel and the fight against antisemitism. Trump responded, “You fight it too. Nobody does it like you, you and Sean [Hannity, another Fox News host] and a few others. It’s not a big group, because things seem to be heading the wrong way in many respects. But in the end, we win. We win all the time.”