Trump Called Netanyahu ‘Effing Crazy’ as Israeli Strikes on Lebanon Threaten U.S.-Iran Diplomacy
Trump Called Netanyahu ‘Effing Crazy’ as Israeli Strikes on Lebanon Threaten U.S.-Iran Diplomacy
Donald Trump confirmed this week that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “effing crazy” during a phone call on Monday, after Israeli strikes on Lebanon prompted Tehran to threaten suspension of nuclear talks with Washington — delivering a potentially serious blow to U.S. efforts to broker a durable ceasefire with Iran.
Trump made the admission on the Pod Force One podcast, broadcast Wednesday, after a journalist asked him about an Axios report detailing the call. “I did,” Trump said, though he described his mood as “a little bit perturbed” rather than angry, adding: “I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him.”
Diverging Agendas, Shared Adversary
The clash comes as Trump weighs a deal that would extend the U.S.-Iran ceasefire — struck nearly 100 days after both countries launched strikes on Iran on 28 February — and open negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme. Control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global shipping, also hangs in the balance.
While Trump and Netanyahu broadly agree on preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, their interests diverge sharply over Lebanon. Israel has continued targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia even as U.S.-Iran diplomacy proceeds. Tehran has insisted that any ceasefire agreement must encompass Lebanon — a condition that Israel’s ongoing campaign directly undermines.
Netanyahu dismissed reports of any serious rift. “Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, these tactical disagreements,” he told CNBC on Wednesday. “We always find a way to work them out, and we do so as great friends.” He suggested the two leaders could “disagree in the morning” and reach agreement by afternoon.
A Pattern of Friction
Analysts were less sanguine. Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat and president of crisis communications agency the Global Situation Room, told the BBC that the episode reflects a structural problem. “Netanyahu has a long history of doing his own dance, irrespective of what he has heard from Washington,” Bruen said.
“Trump decided to take the plunge with him, and is now learning a really hard lesson about what happens when you get into war with a pretty mercurial leader that has an agenda which doesn’t always align with your own priorities,” he added.
Netanyahu’s record of testing White House patience spans multiple administrations. He clashed with Bill Clinton over implementation of the Oslo Accords, delivered a March 2015 speech to Congress on Iran policy without notifying the Obama White House, and drew rebukes from the Biden administration after accusing the U.S. of withholding weapons and ammunition.
“He’s had extremely fraught relationships with U.S. presidents,” said Natan Sachs, an expert on U.S.-Israeli relations at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. “He is a very difficult negotiator — not just in terms of being tough, but in terms of being very suspicious.”
Domestic Political Pressure
The public confirmation of the call lands against a backdrop of shifting American opinion. A Pew Research poll released in April found that 60% of Americans now hold a negative view of Israel, up from 42% before the Hamas war began in 2023.
Prominent conservative voices have also broken ranks. Joe Kent, who led the National Counterterrorism Center before resigning in March, cited his belief that “we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” The pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC responded by accusing Kent of trafficking in “age-old antisemitic tropes.”
Bruen argued that Trump now has a political incentive to publicly distance himself from Netanyahu. “I think there is a political necessity now to create daylight between Israel and the U.S.,” he said. “Whether it’s in Lebanon or in Gaza, there are things that Netanyahu has chosen to do which are politically problematic even for Trump or the Republicans.”
An Uncertain Trajectory
Despite the tensions, Trump and Netanyahu have maintained a broadly warm relationship. Netanyahu has repeatedly called Trump the “greatest friend to Israel” in U.S. history, and Trump previously used an expletive on camera after Israeli strikes on Iran threatened a ceasefire at the end of the so-called 12-day war with Tehran.
Sachs cautioned against reading too much into a single incident — but declined to rule out a deeper shift. “It’s potentially significant. We don’t know if it was a one-time event or a harbinger of broader things,” he said. “I would not rule that out. The president has changed his mind about many people in the past.”
Whether the reported call marks a genuine rupture or a managed display of distance for domestic consumption remains, for now, an open question — one with consequences that extend well beyond the bilateral relationship.