The Jerusalem Post: Trump’s outbursts at Netanyahu follow a familiar pattern

When US President Donald Trump confirmed this week that he had called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” and claimed “you’d be in prison if it weren’t for me,” the political establishment braced for a rupture. But according to veteran diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon writing in The Jerusalem Post, such outbursts are neither new nor predictive of a lasting breakdown in US-Israel relations.

The latest drama began Monday when Axios reported on an explosive phone call in which Trump allegedly berated Netanyahu over Israeli military actions in Lebanon, which the president said were threatening his delicate negotiations with Iran. The Prime Minister’s Office initially disputed the account, but Trump confirmed it days later on a New York Post podcast, answering simply: “I did.”

Yet Keinon argues that three familiar patterns are being ignored. First, Trump periodically vents at Netanyahu in extraordinarily blunt language. Second, these episodes are routinely misinterpreted as strategic ruptures. And third, the relationship repeatedly proves more resilient than the headlines suggest.

“Disagreements between Jerusalem and Washington are not unusual. Nor are disagreements between Trump and Netanyahu,” Keinon writes. “What is striking is how often these episodes are portrayed as evidence of an impending rupture, only for the relationship to return to its previous equilibrium.”

Netanyahu himself alluded to this dynamic in a CNBC interview following Trump’s confirmation. “Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, tactical disagreements,” the prime minister said. “We always find a way to work them out, and we do so as great friends. We can disagree in the morning, and by the afternoon, we have common actions.”

Keinon points to a near-identical incident in June 2025, during the final day of the 12-Day War with Iran. After Trump announced a ceasefire, Tehran fired ballistic missiles at Israel. Netanyahu dispatched fighter jets to bomb Tehran, prompting a furious presidential phone call and a public tirade. Within days, the working relationship resumed.

Even more striking, in December 2021 Trump declared “F*** him” after Netanyahu congratulated Joe Biden on his 2020 election victory. Two years later, during his campaign, Trump accused Netanyahu of “letting us down” over the Soleimani assassination. Yet upon returning to the White House, Trump invited Netanyahu as his first foreign leader, and the prime minister has since spent more time with Trump than any other leader.

In the same New York Post interview where he confirmed the crude remarks, Trump struck a different tone. “I have a very good relationship with him,” the president said. “I like Bibi a lot. And I’ve worked very well with him.”

Keinon concludes that the latest rant fits a well-worn script: the president vents when he believes Israel is jeopardizing a diplomatic initiative he values, then reaffirms the alliance and moves on. The real anxiety, he suggests, stems not from Trump’s anger but from Israel’s deteriorating standing among the broader American public.