President Donald Trump talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu near the Oval Office of the White House, Jan 27, 2020. (Photo/JTA-Jabin Botsford-The Washington Post via Getty Images) News Politics ‘F— him’: Trump slammed Netanyahu in interview and said the Israeli prime minister ‘did not want to make peace’ Facebook Twitter Email SMS WhatsApp Share By Ron Kampeas, JTA | December 10, 2021 In an explosive break with one of his closest allies, Donald Trump use an expletive in April to criticize then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for congratulating Joe Biden on his 2020 election win. In an interview with Axios’ Barak Ravid, Trump added that in his view, Netanyahu “did not want to make peace” in the Middle East. Ravid conducted the interview, which will be published on Monday, in April for his upcoming book on the Abraham Accords. “I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi. But I also like loyalty,” Trump told Ravid. “The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi. And not only did he congratulate him, he did it on tape.” Netanyahu waited over 12 hours from the time the election was called and was not the first foreign leader to congratulate Biden. “I haven’t spoken to him since,” Trump added. “F— him.” Israel’s N12 news broadcaster published audio of Trump’s statement on Thursday night. 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 also told Ravid that “Bibi did not want to make peace,” using Netanyahu’s nickname. “Never did.” Ravid only published excerpts of his interview on Axios on Thursday, and it’s not clear from them what Trump is referring to in the “peace” comments. But there was friction between the two leaders in the wake of the Trump administration’s plan to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, released in early 2020. At the time, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, unveiled a “peace vision” that would have allowed Israel to annex parts of the West Bank — something Netanyahu had long desired and pledged to do during political campaigns — but only if there was Palestinian buy-in within four years of the announcement. The Palestinians declined, but rather than wait for the Trump negotiators to try and advance the vision within its four-year window, Netanyahu launched plans to annex part of the territory. Kushner implored him to slow the process down. The annexation talk killed any hope of eventual Palestinian buy-in and proposed an obstacle for the Trump negotiators’ efforts to broker the Abraham Accords — normalization deals between Israel and four Arab nations. Netanyahu backed down in the face of pressure from the United States and the United Arab Emirates, and the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations with the UAE and Bahrain, and soon thereafter Sudan and Morocco, proceeded. In another interview with Ravid in July, Trump repeated his criticisms of Netanyahu. “Well, I like him, but he has been there a long time,” he said, adding: “I can tell you that people were very angry with him when he was the first one to congratulate Biden.” Trump suggested in that interview that Netanyahu’s congratulatory video call to Biden “hurt him badly with the people of Israel.” “As you know, I’m very popular in Israel. I think it hurt him very badly,” Trump said. Ron Kampeas Ron Kampeas is the D.C. bureau chief at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. JTA Content distributed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency news service. Also On J. Film Should Jews be the creative forces behind ‘West Side Story’ — again? Bay Area A soulful Hebrew Israelite wedding in Davis Torah Try some forgiveness — ‘a grace too powerful to name’ Opinion Left and right, American Jews got Trump’s Israel legacy all wrong Subscribe to our Newsletter Enter Email Sign Up