Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, August 10, 2025. (Abir Sultan/ Pool Photo via AP)
Answering questions at the second of today’s lengthy press conferences, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefly confuses President Donald Trump with former president Joe Biden. In the course of the two press events, he has already stressed the depth of his alliance with Trump while alleging that the Biden administration imposed an arms “embargo” on Israel at one point in the war against Hamas.
Netanyahu makes the naming slip when talking to Israeli reporters about how, although he seeks the support and sometimes the participation of Israel’s allies in military operations, he does not seek or await an American “green light” for actions critical to Israel’s defense.
Nonetheless, he stresses, “I am grateful and full of appreciation for our great friend, President Biden…”
US President Joe Biden, right, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, July 25, 2024. (AP/Susan Walsh)
Somebody in the audience immediately tries to correct him.
Then he realizes his error and, with a short laugh, corrects himself, acknowledging: “President Trump, in this case. That’s true.”
He then says dryly, “There is a certain difference.”
US President Donald Trump, left, meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House, July 8, 2025. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)
Netanyahu goes on to stress that Trump “acted in a wonderful manner” — apparently, though not definitively, referring to the US participation in June’s 12-day war against Iran.
“And I will continue to maintain a close connection with him,” Netanyahu says of Trump, “including in the very near future.”
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From the Liveblog of
Sunday, August 10, 2025
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