Netanyahu responds with class to Trump’s cursing, says ‘it was important’ to congratulate Biden

Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s cursing at him was indeed more elegant than the former American president’s coarse remarks.

By World Israel News Staff

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded Friday to the previous U.S. president’s coarse attack, saying “it was important’ that he congratulate the American president-elect on his victory.

“I highly appreciate President Trump’s big contribution to Israel and its security. I also appreciate the importance of the strong alliance between Israel and the U.S. and therefore it was important for me to congratulate the incoming President,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office read.

“Nobody did more for Bibi. And I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi,” the former president told Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. He was “the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with.

“But I also like loyalty. The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi. And not only did he congratulate him, he did it on tape. And it was on tape.

“I was personally disappointed in him,” he said. “Bibi could have stayed quiet. He made a terrible mistake.”

Trump said that “Bibi could have stayed quiet,” adding that “nobody did more for Bibi. And I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi. “But I also like loyalty.”

According to Trump, Netanyahu’s congratulatory message to Biden came “very early. Like earlier than most. I haven’t spoken to him since. F**k him.”

Trump claimed that had it not been for him and his decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Israel would likely have been destroyed by now.

“The decision to back out of the deal was because of my relations with Israel – not with Bibi. Those were my feelings towards Israel,” he said.

“I’ll tell you what,” he continued. “Had I not come along, I think Israel was going to be destroyed…You want to know the truth? I think Israel would have been destroyed maybe by now.”

He also claimed that his decision in 2019 to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory helped Netanyahu win that year’s election.

“That was a big deal. People say that was a $10 billion gift. I did it right before the election, which helped him a lot… he would have lost the election if it wasn’t for me. So, he tied. He went up a lot after I did it. He went up 10 points or 15 points after I did Golan Heights.”

Ravid has written a new Hebrew-language book, “Trump’s Peace,” about the normalization of relations between Israel and some Arab countries with the help of the Trump administration. He interviewed the former president in the spring, and excerpts of the book, which is being released Sunday, were published Friday in the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, including Trump’s tirade against Netanyahu.

However, this isn’t the first time a journalist reported on Trump’s disappointment with Netanyahu.

According to another new book, authored by journalist Michael Wolff, the Forward reported in July, Trump said Netanyahu’s message was the “ultimate betrayal.”

In his book, Wolff also writes that Trump complained about the lack of support he received from Jewish Americans in the 2020 election, the Forward reported.

Trump lumped together his disappointment with Netanyahu “with his own increasing anger at his failure to much improve his standing among Jewish voters, even with what he regarded as the quid pro quo nature of his support of Israel,” Wolff wrote.

Benjamin NetanyahuDonald TrumpJoe BidenUS-Israel relations