Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was confronted about his tense relationship with Donald Trump amid the conflicts in the Middle East.
In an interview on Fox & Friends on Monday morning, Netanyahu gave a less-than-convincing reply when he was asked by host Brian Kilmeade if his relationship with Trump was “under strain” as Israel’s attacks on Lebanon threaten hopes of ending the war with Iran.
“Well, first of all, we see eye to eye on just about everything. And sometimes—this happens among the best of allies, and we are the best of allies—there can be differences of opinion,” Netanyahu said.
“We usually speak about it in open conversation. You can imagine the president has his way of expressing things, and so do I. But we’re allies. We’re your model ally. And we respect the United States of America.”
Netanyahu added that his relationship with the 80-year-old president is “fine,” and that the pair have “a way of ironing out our differences, as allies who respect each other.”
Netanyahu is said to have convinced Trump to join Israel’s airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28, starting a deeply unpopular conflict that has dragged on for more than four months.
Despite a shaky ceasefire being in place since April, Tehran has frequently accused Israel of violating the arrangement by continuing to attack the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Last month, Axios reported that Trump confronted Netanyahu over Israel’s strikes in Lebanon, which threatened to derail any chance of a permanent peace deal with Iran.
“What the f--- are you doing?” Trump said in a furious tirade. “You’re f---ing crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your a--. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”
In an interview on the Pod Force One podcast, Trump admitted he lashed out at Netanyahu during an expletive-ridden phone call.
“I wouldn’t say angry,” Trump said. “I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon, you know.”
Elsewhere during Netanyahu’s Fox News appearance, he once again insisted there is nothing wrong with the “remarkable partnership” between the U.S. and Israel, despite acknowledging there have been some tensions.
“Do we have some disagreements from time to time? Yeah, sure. But we work them out because we’re allies,” he said.
