According to a book, Donald Trump made an expletive about his old ally, Israel's ex-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for congratulating Joe Biden on his victory in the election last year.
The author Barak Ravid wrote on Friday that Trump lashed out in an interview for a book on US-Israel relations during his presidency. Trump's remarks were also published by Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
During the four years they overlapped in office, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu were the closest political allies, at least in public. Ravid wrote.
I haven't spoken to him since, Trump told Ravid in an interview. Ravid said he spoke to Trump in April and July for his forthcoming book, Trump s Peace: The Abraham Accords and the reshaping of the Middle East.
He said Trump, who appeared close to Netanyahu while he was president from 2017 to 2021, was repeatedly critical of him in the interviews.
The final straw for Trump was when Netanyahu congratulated President-elect Biden for his election victory while Trump was still disputing the result, Ravid wrote.
More than 12 hours after the election was called, Netanyahu had congratulated Biden. He did not refer to Biden as president-elect in the tweet and followed it up with a post praising Trump.
Trump appeared to be particularly incensed by a video released by Netanyahu on 20 January, the day Biden was inaugurated, in which Netanyahu said he and Biden had a warm personal friendship going back many decades. Trump has never conceded the election, falsely claiming Biden won by voter fraud.
Other foreign leaders congratulated Biden earlier than the Israeli leader, but Netanyahu stood out.
The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi Netanyahu, the man I did more for than any other person I dealt with, according to Ravid.
Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake, Trump said, using Netanyahu's nickname.
The Trump administration took unprecedented steps to support Israel's government, including dropping objections to its settlements in the occupied West Bank and recognizing Jerusalem as the country's capital. After proposing a Mideast plan that was adamantly rejected by the Palestinians, the administration brokered normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab states.
He said I also like loyalty.
Ravid wrote that Trump was unhappy that Netanyahu did not help him stay in office.
Netanyahu responded to the story of the Axios in a statement on Friday.
He said he highly appreciates President Trump's contribution to Israel and its security.
I also appreciate the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the USA and therefore it was important for me to congratulate the incoming president. Netanyahu was replaced as prime minister last summer after he was unable to form a majority in the wake of four hard-fought elections in less than two years.
Both former leaders could return to power.
Trump is keeping the option of running for president in 2024 open. Netanyahu is currently the leader of the opposition in Israel's Knesset.