Trump claims Netanyahu disregarded Biden’s advice on war, was right to do so
PM’s office says he told the Republican presidential candidate that Israel will continue to listen to the US but act according to its own national interest
Former US president Donald Trump claimed Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has disregarded the advice of his successor, US President Joe Biden, adding that Israel is in a better position in its ongoing multi-front war because of it.
At a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump criticized Biden for ostensibly telling Netanyahu “Don’t do this, don’t do that” regarding the war against Hamas in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Bibi didn’t listen to him and I’ll tell you what, they’re in a much stronger position now than they were three months ago… Nobody’s ever seen anything like that,” Trump said, likely referring to the series of assassinations of terror chiefs and other blows to the Iran-backed terror groups.
The Republican presidential candidate also said Netanyahu spoke with him on Saturday.
“[Netanyahu] said, ‘It’s incredible what’s happened,’ and I said, ‘It’s pretty incredible,” Trump said of the call, adding: “But he wouldn’t listen to Biden, because if he did, they wouldn’t be in this position.”
Referring to his opponent in the race, US Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump said, “She’s worse than [Biden], she’s not as smart as him, and I’m not saying he’s the smartest… but she’s not as smart as him.”
A spokesperson for the prime minister put out a statement confirming the call with Trump took place, adding that Netanyahu “repeated what he has said publicly: Israel is attentive to the matters the American government brings up, but will ultimately make decisions according to her own national interests.”
Trump said he talked to Nentanyahu today and Bibi told him he's not listening to Biden pic.twitter.com/mlrP2xl4LB
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 19, 2024
Trump, speaking later to reporters in Philadelphia, said he had had “a very nice call” with Netanyahu on Saturday.
The Israeli leader had asked his opinion about what to do with Iran, he said. Israel is pondering its military reaction to recent Iranian missile strikes.
“He was asking what I thought. And I just said, you do what you have to do,” Trump said.
The call came after Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea was targeted on Saturday by a Hezbollah drone.
Ties between Biden and Netanyahu have been notably rocky during their shared time in office, though the pair have known each other for decades.
The relationship became particularly strained over the past year after Hamas on October 7, 2023, led a devastating attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken as hostages to Gaza. Israel responded with a military campaign to destroy the terror group and save the hostages.
The two leaders have publicly and privately sparred over Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza and more recently the fighting in Lebanon, and the ongoing hostage negotiations, in which the US has acted as a mediator, with Biden accusing the prime minister of lacking a strategy for how to draw the conflict to a close.
Notably, Biden was openly against an Israeli incursion into Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, with the US president reportedly referring to Netanyahu in private as “a fucking liar” after the operation went ahead anyway.
In April, Iran blamed Israel for an airstrike that killed two Revolutionary Guard generals in an alleged Iranian consular annex in Damascus, Syria. After the US and other allies helped Israel intercept most of the hundreds of missiles Iran fired in retaliation, Biden urged Netanyahu to “take the win” and refrain from responding.
Israel nonetheless carried out a limited reprisal strike on Iran.
The Biden administration was also reportedly exasperated at Israel’s assassination of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders during periods when Washington was hoping to advance ceasefire proposals.
Biden has for months stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, but the fighting has continued. Last week the Israeli military killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Rafah, a major achievement in the war.
Earlier this month, Biden and Netanyahu spoke for the first time in nearly 50 days, with the White House describing the call as “direct and productive.” The Prime Minister’s Office said it was conducted in a “positive spirit.”
Trump and Netanyahu last met in July at the former president’s residence during a diplomatic trip the prime minister took to the US to garner support for Israel in its war effort, including a speech he gave to Congress.
The meeting appeared to rekindle Trump and Netanyahu’s relationship, which had turned sour after the former president raged at Netanyahu for congratulating Biden on his victory in the US election in 2020.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.