Former President Donald Trump told Newsmax last Thursday he is not committed to supporting Israeli opposition leader and Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu in his upcoming bid to recapture the helm of prime minister.
“I was disappointed with him in certain ways, but overall, I liked him very much,” said fmr. President Donald Trump of fmr. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when asked if he would support Netanyahu running again in upcoming elections. #WakeUpAmeica @RobFinnertyUSA pic.twitter.com/0YOIa8aWKN
— Newsmax (@newsmax) June 30, 2022
“I was disappointed with him in certain ways but overall, I liked him very much,” Trump said. “If he ran, I would certainly give it some thought. We’ll see what happens. I don’t know that that’s going to happen. He disappointed me in certain ways but he also did a very good job in other ways.”
In December 2020, in an exclusive interview Trump gave Israeli journalist Barak Ravid that appears in his book, “Trump’s Peace,” Trump used profanity in referring to Netanyahu after the Israeli PM had congratulated Joe Biden for getting elected even though Trump was accusing his successor of election fraud.
“Nobody did more for Bibi. And I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi, but I also like loyalty… Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake,” Trump said, adding, “I haven’t spoken to him since. [Expletive] him.”
Trump recalled the greetings video Netanyahu had recorded for Biden and commented: “He made a terrible mistake. I was disappointed in him only on a personal level. The election here was controversial. They are still controversial. So, Netanyahu, even before the ink dries up, records a greeting to Joe Biden? It was early. Okay? Let’s put it this way – he greeted him very early. Earlier than most world leaders.”
Trump continued: “I really liked Netanyahu. No one did more for Bibi than me. No one did for Israel more than I did. But the elections in this country were stolen and fixed. And the first person to run to greet Joe Biden was Netanyahu. Leaders of other countries, such as Brazil, waited for months. Putin, Mexico. They, too, felt that the election had been fixed.”
Trump was emotional when he spoke about the time he altered US policy toward Iran based on Netanyahu’s request: “I remember Bibi Netanyahu coming to the United States and begging Obama not to make the deal with Iran. … All that Netanyahu received from Biden was the agreement with Iran. That’s all he got from him. I don’t understand how Jews can vote for Biden or Obama with what was done to them with the nuclear deal … If I had not come, I think Israel would have been destroyed.”
“Listen to what I’m telling you – if I hadn’t come, I think Israel would have been destroyed. Okay? Do you want to know the truth? I think Israel has been destroyed by now. They didn’t have a friendship (Netanyahu and Obama), because if they did, they (the Obama administration) would not have made the deal with Iran. And guess what? They’re going to do it now one more time. And if they return to the nuclear deal, Israel will be in very great danger. It is a very big danger,” Trump said.
“No president has done for Israel what I did, not even close,” Trump told Ravid. “In Israel, I am the most popular person because they understand. I don’t run in the Israeli elections, so it doesn’t matter, but I hear that my popularity rating in Israel is through the roof.”
