Report: Trump asked Netanyahu if he genuinely cares about peace
According to the Axios website, the American president presented the question to the Israeli prime minister in a phone call last year after reading news reports about Netanyahu planning to build additional settlements to please his conservative base in Israel.
According to the report, the American president was pressing the Israeli prime minister at the time on the importance of striking a "deal" for Mideast peace. Before the call, he had read news reports about Netanyahu planning to build additional settlements to please his conservative base in Israel and thought Netanyahu was unnecessarily angering the Palestinians.
According to Axios, in the course of a longer conversation that was mostly friendly and complimentary, Trump bluntly asked Netanyahu whether or not he genuinely wanted peace.
A senior White House source didn’t deny the report, but told the website: "The president has an extremely close and candid relationship with the prime minister of Israel and appreciates his strong efforts to enhance the cause of peace in the face of numerous challenges."
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders added, "The president has great relationships with a number of foreign leaders, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be aggressive when it comes to negotiating what’s best for America."
