Netanyahu Touts 'Vital' Israel-US Alliance After Expletive-Laden Trump Savaging Over Biden Call

Former President Donald Trump expressed vehement disappointment with ex-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over congratulating Joe Biden on his election victory in November 2020, according to journalist Barak Ravid, who interviewed the ex-POTUS for his new book "Trump’s Peace: The Abraham Accords and the Reshaping of the Middle East".

Benjamin Netanyahu cited the importance of the Israel-US alliance on Friday as he defended congratulating Joe Biden on his victory in the 2020 presidential election, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office, cited by The Times of Israel.

"Former Prime Minister Netanyahu really appreciates the great contribution that President Trump made to the State of Israel and its security. He also really appreciates the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the US, and it was therefore important for him to congratulate the incoming president", the statement added, referring to Biden.

The response from the leader of the opposition and chairman of the Likud – National Liberal Movement come after Axios reported that Trump had savaged Netanyahu during a 90-minute interview for journalist Barak Ravid in April at Mar-a-Lago.

Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Joe, we’ve had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel. I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the U.S. and Israel.

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) November 8, 2020

Congratulations President @JoeBiden and Vice President @KamalaHarris on your historic inauguration.

President Biden, you and I have had a warm personal friendship going back many decades. pic.twitter.com/3cO4Zb1o1Q

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) January 20, 2021

Donald Trump expressed profound bitterness with one of his closest foreign allies during his four years in office over the former Israeli prime minister's decision to congratulate Biden too quickly on his victory in November 2020, and after his inauguration in January 2021.

In a interview to @BarakRavid for his new book out tomorrow, Trump confirms Michael Wolff’s reporting that he saw Netanyahu’s congrats of Biden in Nov. as the ‘ultimate betrayal.’

“Fuck him,” Trump said about Netanyahu. “I haven’t spoken to him since.” pic.twitter.com/Jg5jkoJhci

— Jacob Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) December 10, 2021

Trump railed against the presidential election that pitted him against Democrat Biden as mired in inconsistencies and "rigged" to favour his opponent.

"He was very early — like, earlier than most. I haven't spoken to him since. F*** him", Trump was said to have told the Axios journalist.

Insisting that he "liked Bibi" and still does, Trump emphasised how much he valued loyalty, continuing:

"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…".

The former president also stressed that his decision to unilaterally scrap the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, was "because of my relations with Israel", and insisted that if he had not done so, "Israel would have been destroyed maybe by now".

Speaking of the current Vienna talks aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal with, he said: "…Guess what, now they're going to do it again".

Trump deplored the move as a "terrible mistake".

The 45th president of the United States spoke to Ravid in April and July for the Israeli reporter's new Hebrew-language book, "Trump’s Peace: The Abraham Accords and the Reshaping of the Middle East". Excerpts from the interview were released Friday by the daily Yedioth Ahronoth ahead of the book's release on Sunday.