President Donald Trump has confirmed reports that he sharply confronted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, acknowledging that he used profanity during a tense phone call as concerns mounted over the potential collapse of U.S.-Iran peace negotiations.
The call, first reported by Axios journalist Barak Ravid, reportedly occurred after Netanyahu ordered Israeli forces to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahieh district, an escalation that threatened to derail ongoing diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran.
According to Axios, citing U.S. officials and another source briefed on the conversation, Trump referred to Netanyahu as “crazy” and demanded, “What the f— are you doing?” during the call. The report also claimed Trump reminded Netanyahu of U.S. support, allegedly telling the Israeli leader, “I helped you stay out of jail.”
Senior officials in Netanyahu’s office disputed portions of the Axios account, calling it “inaccurate” and denying some of the personal remarks attributed to Trump.
However, Trump later confirmed key details of the exchange during an interview with New York Post columnist Miranda Devine on her Pod Force One podcast.
“Now Axios reported that you had a phone call with Bibi Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, in which you were angry with him. You said, ‘Are you effing crazy? What are you effing doing? I helped you stay out of jail.’ Is that true?” Devine asked.
“I did,” Trump replied.
The president downplayed suggestions that he was furious with Netanyahu, instead describing himself as frustrated by Israel’s continued military actions against Lebanon.
“I wouldn’t say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon,” Trump said. “You know, at some point I said, ‘Bibi we gotta stop this, we gotta stop it.’”
Despite the confrontation, Trump emphasized that his relationship with the Israeli prime minister remains strong.
“But I have a very good relationship. We’ve done well together,” Trump added. “He always says we could never have done it, but everybody knows that we could have never done it without the United States. But we’ve worked very well together.”
“I like Bibi a lot and I’ve worked very well with him,” he continued. “We had where, you know, where I’m a wartime president, he’s a wartime prime minister. Very important part of the world, and I think we’ve done, you know, very well.”
Watch the full interview on YouTube:
The reported dispute came amid growing concerns that renewed Israeli strikes in Lebanon could jeopardize diplomatic progress with Iran. Iranian officials accused Israel of violating a ceasefire agreement brokered by Washington and Tehran in April and threatened to suspend negotiations with the United States.
Following his conversation with Netanyahu, Trump announced on Truth Social that Israeli forces would pull back from Beirut and that troops heading toward the Lebanese capital “have already been turned back.”
“Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” Trump wrote.
The incident has also sparked political commentary in the United States. During an appearance on CNN’s OutFront, Democrat strategist David Axelrod said Trump’s frustration with Netanyahu was understandable.
“It doesn’t sound like a very friendly call,” Axelrod said.
Axelrod argued that Netanyahu’s actions had complicated both Israel’s international standing and Trump’s political position at home.
“I think that the president — his analysis is not wrong,” Axelrod said. “Bibi Netanyahu has done tremendous damage, in my view, to Israel and to Israel’s standing in the world.”
Axelrod also suggested Trump may be particularly frustrated because the conflict has become a domestic political liability.
“What he’s mad about is Bibi has created a huge political problem for him, because the economy is the thing that is on the minds of Americans, and he has made it worse,” Axelrod added.
While the exchange highlights growing tensions over the conduct of the regional conflict, Trump’s public comments suggest that, despite the unusually blunt language, he continues to view Netanyahu as a close ally even as he pushes for de-escalation in Lebanon.
