White House Press Secretary Karein Jean-Pierre ‘can’t confirm’ whether Biden called Israeli Prime Minister a ‘f***ing liar’ while expressing outrage over Rafah operation, as claimed by new book by Bob Woodward.
By World Israel News Staff
The White House press secretary was unable to confirm or deny whether President Joe Biden cursed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a telephone conversation earlier this year, and repeatedly used epithets in conversations with others while describing the Israeli leader.
On Tuesday, CNN revealed excerpts from Bob Woodward’s upcoming book, War, focusing on the Biden administration’s handling of the Ukraine war, the war between Israel and Hamas, and Donald Trump’s post-presidency.
In the excerpts published by CNN, Biden privately trashed both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, repeatedly cursing the two leaders.
“That f***ing Putin,” Biden was quoted as telling advisers after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Regarding Netanyahu, Biden on multiple occasions cursed Netanyahu, including at least one instance in which the comments were made directly to the Israeli premier during a phone call this July, after the IDF bombed a Hezbollah base in Beirut, killing a number of senior terrorists.
“Bibi, what the f***?” Biden shouted.
“You know the perception of Israel around the world increasingly is that you’re a rogue state, a rogue actor,” Biden continued.
Netanyahu defended the strike, noting Israel had killed a top Hezbollah terrorist.
“We saw an opportunity and took it,” Netanyahu said, according to Woodward.
In private, Biden blasted Netanyahu in the spring of 2024, after the Israeli military entered Rafah in southern Gaza,” referring to Netanyahu as a “son of a bitch.”
“That son of a bitch, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad guy. He’s a bad f***ing guy!”
“He’s a f***ing liar,” Biden was also quoted as saying.
The president made similar comments about West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a former Democrat who left the party to become an independent earlier this year, and former President Donald Trump.
A day after the CNN report, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was questioned during a press briefing regarding Biden’s alleged statements.
Jean-Pierre did not deny the comments, saying only she was unable to confirm the veracity of Woodward’s claims.
“There’s going to be many books that are written about this administration and many administrations,” Jean-Pierre said. “Nothing atypical about that.”
“What I can say to that question that you asked me: I cannot confirm. That is not something that I can confirm from here.”
The press secretary emphasized that the telephone conversation between Biden and Netanyahu earlier that day – the first between the two leaders in six weeks – was “direct and very productive.”