U.S. President Donald Trump told a reporter that it is not clear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to run in the country's upcoming elections and whether he wants to remain in politics at all.
Trump said it is an open question whether Bibi wants to stay in politics, ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl reported Tuesday night, writing in a post on X that he had spoken with the U.S. president on the matter.
Trump said it is not clear whether Netanyahu will run in the next election, Karl reported. According to Karl, Trump wondered “If Bibi even wants to continue."
“I don't know, he's had an amazing career. Does he want to continue? Because, you know he's a wartime prime minister. We will very shortly win the war one way or the other, and you know he's a wartime prime minister," Trump said, according to Karl.
He continued: "That's okay, just like I'm a wartime president.”
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Things have been tense between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump
(Photos: lev radin/Shutterstock, Nathan Howard/Reuters Kawant Haju/AFP, Shutterstock)
Last month, Netanyahu enlisted Trump in what looked like the launch of his election campaign, posting on Telegram an edited video featuring Trump’s voice expressing support for him against the backdrop of the ongoing war. In the video Netanyahu distributed, Trump is seen praising him, with the remarks taken from several past speeches. Among the images, the president and prime minister are seen shaking hands in front of Israeli and U.S. flags, as Trump says: “If they did not have a strong prime minister, Israel might not exist. Other leaders could have been in office, but they would have lost — he won.”
Last week the two held a call that was, according to reports, highly tense — if not openly hostile on Trump’s part. According to the reports, Trump was furious over Netanyahu’s response to his announcement of a ceasefire with Hezbollah, and called him out in a profanity-laced conversation. It was reported that during the call, Trump called Netanyahu “f**king crazy” and accused him of ingratitude.
A senior U.S. official said Trump told Netanyahu that carrying out his threats to bomb Lebanon’s capital would further isolate Israel around the world. Two of the sources said Trump claimed he had helped Netanyahu avoid prison — a reference to the support he expressed regarding Netanyahu’s request for a pardon.
According to the senior U.S. official, “Trump told Netanyahu: ‘You’re f**king crazy. Without me you’d be in jail. I’m saving your ass. Everyone hates you now. Everyone hates Israel because of what’s happening.’”