President Donald Trump is privately seething over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent actions, which include a public rebuke on Fox News and an apparent attempt to pressure the White House into a meeting that was never planned, Axios reported Thursday. The escalating rift between the two longtime allies has left Trump frustrated, with insiders describing the president as “p----- off” by Netanyahu’s conduct.
The tension centers on multiple incidents. White House aides were caught off guard in recent days when Israeli media reported that Trump would host Netanyahu on Monday, even though no such meeting had been scheduled. According to Axios, Trump had previously indicated that Netanyahu could visit after the president returned from the NATO summit in Ankara, but the offer never materialized into a formal invitation. “Our impression was that Bibi was trying to will a meeting into existence,” one White House official told the outlet, using Netanyahu’s nickname.
The meeting dispute followed Netanyahu’s appearance on Fox News just before Trump departed for Ankara, where the Israeli prime minister openly criticized Trump’s plan to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. The criticism infuriated Trump, who viewed it as a direct challenge to his foreign policy. “One of the White House officials told Axios Trump was ‘p----- off’ by the interview,” the report stated.
The deterioration of the Trump-Netanyahu relationship has been building for months, driven largely by Trump’s frustration over the lack of a clear resolution to the war in Gaza, which began in 2023 after a devastating Hamas-led attack on Israel. Several weeks ago, Trump reportedly shouted at Netanyahu during an expletive-laden phone call, telling him “everybody hates you.” The call underscored the growing personal animosity between the two leaders, who once enjoyed a close alliance as heads of right-wing coalitions in their respective countries.
Netanyahu’s attempt to force a meeting is seen by some analysts as a sign of his own political vulnerability. The Israeli leader faces ongoing domestic pressure over the war’s handling and corruption charges, and a White House visit would have provided a much-needed diplomatic boost. However, Trump’s refusal to schedule the meeting suggests he is unwilling to offer that support without concessions on Gaza policy.
The dispute also highlights broader tensions between the United States and Israel over the sale of advanced weapons to Turkey, a NATO ally that has maintained ties with Russia and criticized Israel’s military operations. Trump’s administration has pursued a transactional approach to foreign policy, and Netanyahu’s public opposition to the F-35 sale was seen as undermining that strategy.
White House officials have declined to comment on the specifics of the reported rift, but the Axios account aligns with other signals of strain. Netanyahu’s office has not responded to requests for comment. The episode marks a sharp departure from the warm relationship the two leaders shared during Trump’s first term, when Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and brokered the Abraham Accords.
As the war in Gaza continues with no end in sight, the personal feud between Trump and Netanyahu could complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire or post-war governance plan. For now, the Israeli prime minister appears to have lost his most powerful ally in Washington, at least for the moment.
