OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Donald Trump is sounding off on Benjamin Netanyahu for his lack of loyalty following the 2020 presidential election.
Axios’ Barak Ravid interviewed Trump for his new book, “Trump’s Peace: The Abraham Accords and the Reshaping of the Middle East.”
“I haven’t spoken to him since,” Trump said of Netanyahu. “F**k him.”
Trump spoke to Ravid about then-Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu congratulating Joe Biden for his election victory.
“The first person that congratulated [Biden] was Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with. … Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake,” Trump said.
“Trump also felt he’d helped ensure Netanyahu’s political survival, but didn’t get the same in return. He positively fumed about the video in which Netanyahu congratulated Biden,” Ravid wrote.
“I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi. But I also like loyalty. The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi. And not only did he congratulate him, he did it on tape,” Trump said.
“He was very early — like, earlier than most. I haven’t spoken to him since. F**k him,” he added.
“For Bibi Netanyahu, before the ink was even dry, to do a message, and not only a message, to do a tape to Joe Biden talking about their great, great friendship — they didn’t have a friendship, because if they did, [the Obama administration] wouldn’t have done the Iran deal,” Trump said. “And guess what, now they’re going to do it again.”
“There was no one who did more for Netanyahu than me. There was no one who did for Israel more than I did. And the first person to run to greet Joe Biden was Netanyahu. And not only did he congratulate him — he did it in a video. If you look at the leaders of other countries — like Brazil — he waited months. Putin. Many other leaders. Mexico. All of them also felt that the election was over. But they, too, were waiting. No one did more than me for Bibi. Money too. We gave them a lot of money and gave them soldiers. We did everything,” he added.
JUST NOW: "Everybody thought they were best friends. No daylight between them. And from now on, it is clear this was bullshit."@BarakRavid on his huge @axios
scoop where Trump says of Netanyahu… "F*&K him!"pic.twitter.com/qgUHsFlt6O— John Berman (@JohnBerman) December 10, 2021
"The first person that congratulated [Biden] was Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with…Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake. I haven’t spoken to him since. Fuck him."https://t.co/6i2qFB3Sr1
— Alfred Spellman (@AlfredSpellman) December 10, 2021
The former US president:
Trump railed against one-time ally Benjamin Netanyahu in interview with Israeli journalist Barak Ravid. He felt betrayed by Netanyahu’s call to Biden congratulating him on winning the presidency. “It was early..I've not spoken to him since. F**k him."
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 10, 2021
Netanyahu did post a congratulations video on social media on November 8, 2020.
Netanyahu said that he and Biden have had a “long and warm” personal relationship for almost 40 years and sees him as “a great friend of Israel” and looks forward to working together.
In a Twitter post, Netanyahu thanked Trump “for the friendship you have shown the state of Israel and me personally, for recognizing Jerusalem and the Golan, for standing up to Iran, for the historic peace accords, and for bringing the American-Israeli alliance to unprecedented heights.”