President Trump has confirmed that he called Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "crazy" and used an expletive during a heated telephone call this week that halted planned Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon's capital Beirut.
Trump acknowledged he made the remarks when asked by conservative writer Miranda Devine on her podcast, Pod Force One.
"I did. I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon. You know, at some point I said, 'Bibi we got to stop this. We got to stop it,'" Trump said.
Trump's remarks in the Monday call to Netanyahu were first reported by Axios.
Netanyahu recently ordered a major military operation in southern Lebanon against the militant group Hezbollah. He said it was in response to Hezbollah fire on communities in northern Israel.
The Israeli leader went to Israel's northern border last Friday and told Israeli troops to "keep striking Hezbollah relentlessly." He went on to say, "Keep going with great success until the mission is complete."
Netanyahu went further on Monday. He put out a statement saying Israel would carry out airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, where many group leaders are based.
That prompted many Lebanese citizens in that part of the city to get in their cars and started fleeing, creating massive traffic jams.
Officially, Israel and Hezbollah are supposed to be observing a truce that's part of the broader ceasefire in the Iran war.
Iran responded to the Israeli military operation by saying it would stop the indirect negotiations with the U.S.
Trump then called Netanyahu, who has called off airstrikes on Beirut, at least for now.
However, Israel has continued to conduct ground operations and airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
In his remarks on the podcast, Trump insisted he still had a good relationship with Netanyahu.
"I like Bibi a lot and I've worked very well with him," Trump said. "I'm a wartime president. He's a wartime prime minister."
Israel's media and many politicians have criticized Netanyahu, saying he's been too weak to stand up to Trump. They claim Trump has now forced Israel to accept three ceasefires that Israel opposed — in Gaza, Iran, and now Lebanon.
Ben Caspit, a prominent columnist with the Maariv newspaper, and a frequent critic of Netanyahu, wrote, "The truth needs to be said: Israeli policy is dictated by Trump's social media posts."
Trump and Netanyahu coordinated closely to launch the Iran war three months ago and broadly shared the same goals, which included toppling the Islamic government and dismantling the country's nuclear program.
Today, Trump is clearly focused on a deal that would involve compromises with Iran. Netanyahu has consistently favored maintaining military pressure in order to weaken Iran's government and military as much as possible.
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