According to a new book, former US President Donald Trump criticized Israel’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for congratulating Joe Biden on his election victory last year.
Author Barak Ravid said on the Axios website on Friday that Trump lashed out in an interview for a book about US-Israel relations during his presidency.
The author wrote, “Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu were the closest of political allies during the four years they overlapped in office, at least in public. Not anymore”.
“I haven’t spoken to him since,” Trump told Ravid in an interview. “Fuck him.”
“Trump’s Peace: The Abraham Accords and the Reshaping of the Middle East,” claimed Ravid, who interviewed Trump twice for his upcoming book.
He claimed that Trump, who appeared to be close to Netanyahu during his presidency from 2017 to 2021, was critical of him constantly in the interviews.
“The final straw for Trump was when Netanyahu congratulated President Biden on his election victory while Trump was still disputing the result,” Ravid said.
Netanyahu congratulated Biden 12 hours after it became evident that he had won.
Trump has never conceded the election, saying that Biden won due to vote fraud while providing any evidence.
Other foreign leaders congratulated Biden ahead of Netanyahu, but Netanyahu stood out for Trump.
“The first person that congratulated [Biden] was Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with,” Trump said.
“Bibi (Netanyahu) could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake,” Trump said.
“I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi. But I also like loyalty,” he said.
According to Ravid, Trump was dissatisfied with Netanyahu’s refusal to assist him in keeping his position.
Netanyahu issued a statement on Friday in response to the Axios report.
“I highly appreciate President Trump’s big contribution to Israel and its security,” he said.
“I also appreciate the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the US and therefore it was important for me to congratulate the incoming president.”
Both past leaders may seek re-election.
Trump is still the de facto leader of the Republican Party, and he hasn’t ruled out a presidential candidacy in 2024. Netanyahu is the current head of the opposition in Israel’s Knesset, having lost power earlier this year.
