Trump Says He Can Rein In Netanyahu Over Lebanon Escalation

In an interview with Axios published overnight between Thursday and Friday, President Donald Trump said his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "good," but added that "we need to keep him a little sane." When asked whether he could stop Israel from escalating strikes in Lebanon, Trump said, "Yes. They respect me very much and they do what I say."

Trump also said Netanyahu "worked with me well" and stressed that the United States provides Israel with most of its military power. "We are the ones who have the weapons, we are the ones who have all the capabilities, we are the ones who have the bombers," he said. He added, "Without Donald Trump, Israel would have been crushed," using another line in which he said Israel would have been slaughtered without him.

The comments come after a series of public clashes between Trump and Netanyahu over the fighting in Lebanon. According to the report, Trump attacked Netanyahu in a call after Israel’s plan to expand strikes in Lebanon, called him "crazy," and warned that further escalation could hurt Israel’s standing and derail negotiations with Iran. He also said at the time he stopped a plan to strike in Beirut.

Trump has continued to criticize Israel’s Lebanon operations in recent days. In an interview with Channel 12, he said he was "very unhappy" with the Israeli strike in Beirut and claimed Netanyahu has "no fucking judgment." On Thursday he called for a "complete ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon," while the new Axios interview emphasized that, despite the tensions, he still described his ties with Netanyahu as good.