While President Donald Trump publicly celebrates close his ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, behind closed doors the American leader recently erupted in profanity-laced fury over the Israeli leader’s systematic defiance of White House ceasefire efforts and calculated humiliation of presidential authority. Trump has confided to advisers that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favors military pressure over negotiated ceasefire agreements, with the president’s anger peaking after Israeli strikes on Hamas negotiators in Qatar threatened peace discussions, according to Wall Street Journal sources.
“He’s f—ing me,” Trump told senior staff including Secretary of State Marco Rubio following the Qatar operations, officials present during the conversation reported to the Wall Street Journal.
Washington finds Trump’s willingness to accept Netanyahu’s defiance puzzling, given the president’s typical dominance in relationships yet apparent acceptance of the Israeli leader’s contrary actions.
“It’s slightly baffling and counterintuitive,” Atlantic Council’s Shalom Lipner, who served seven consecutive Israeli prime ministers over 25 years, told the Wall Street Journal.
Netanyahu gifting President Donald Trump a mezuzah in the shape of a B-2, which was used by the US to bomb Fordo, on July 7, 2025 (GPO)
“Netanyahu’s moves have prolonged the Gaza war, created trouble for Trump with other U.S. allies in the region and made the expansion of the Abraham Accords excruciatingly difficult,” Lipner explained to the Wall Street Journal.
Previous harsh language from Trump toward Netanyahu included calling him disloyal after the Israeli leader congratulated Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, when Trump declared “F—him” to journalist Barak Ravid.
Trump’s criticism has failed to weaken Netanyahu, former Israeli ambassador Itamar Rabinovich observed, telling the Wall Street Journal, “I’m mystified and so are many other Israelis. He’s under siege and makes mistakes. The only thing that’s really working for him is Trump’s support.”
Despite private exasperation, Trump avoids public pressure, refusing to leverage America’s military support or personal rapport with Netanyahu while watching Israel’s Gaza City offensive proceed as peace prospects diminish.
The White House declined comment to the Wall Street Journal.
Senior Israeli officials described the Trump-Netanyahu relationship as excellent, calling contrary reports “fake news” while emphasizing aligned US-Israeli interests and values, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Both leaders share experiences of persecution from national establishments, including criminal trials, viewing themselves as outsiders reforming corrupt systems, according to sources familiar with both figures.
Former Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri called their ties “very, very tight,” describing tension reports as “planned media moves for strategic reasons” in Wall Street Journal interviews.
Netanyahu’s congressional influence and Republican media presence strengthen the relationship, as he hosts US lawmakers while appearing primarily on Trump-supporter outlets including Fox News, Newsmax, and OAN.
Republican support for Israel remains strong despite Democratic decline, with July Gallup polling showing 67% of Republicans favor Netanyahu versus 9% of Democrats.
“Republicans want to see a success story against Hamas,” former Israeli National Security Council senior director Avner Golov, now at MIND Israel, told the Wall Street Journal.
Some Republican support shows cracks as MAGA coalition members criticize Israel, with Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene accusing Israel of “genocide” in Gaza.
Trump avoids public breaks with Netanyahu while priding himself on their relationship and Israeli support, officials noted, frequently citing Abraham Accords achievements and pursuing Israeli-Saudi normalization.
Netanyahu cultivates Trump’s inner circle, exemplified by Saturday’s ceremony with US Ambassador Mike Huckabee naming a Bat Yam promenade after Trump.
The Israeli leader has structured a relationship allowing temporary Trump anger while knowing it won’t persist, frequently calling Trump “the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”
PM Netanyahu and President Donald Trump (Lukas Bischoff/iStock via Getty Images; Alex Kolomoisky; AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
“Netanyahu knows that while the White House may grumble a bit, there really is no downside to an ‘ask forgiveness, not permission’ approach,” former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staff director Damian Murphy told the Wall Street Journal.
Following the Qatar strike, Trump held two calls with Netanyahu – first expressing displeasure, then discussing the attack’s success – before praising Qatari mediation efforts and alliance value.
Netanyahu insists Hamas must surrender weapons, release 48 remaining hostages, and remove leadership from Gaza, with Israel compelling complete surrender through military force if terms are rejected – diverging from Trump’s negotiated resolution preference.
Trump’s overt pressure targets only Hamas, which launched October 7, 2023 attacks sparking the war, issuing repeated warnings about additional violence.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Israel visit this week produced no fresh Qatar strike criticism, while Netanyahu refused ruling out future neighboring country strikes against Hamas negotiators.
“This is the principle we established. It’s a principle we follow. It hasn’t changed,” Netanyahu said regarding targeting terrorist attack perpetrators on foreign soil.
The Qatar strike’s timing complicated US interests as diplomatic challenges mounted.
Trump’s upcoming UN General Assembly speech will address peacemaking efforts, though recent weeks saw failed attempts preventing UK, France, and Canada from recognizing Palestinian statehood, moves the US claims help Hamas.
Israeli troops fighting in the Gaza war (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
“There will be an Israeli counterreaction to those moves, and we’ve seen some of that happen as well,” Rubio said Monday alongside Netanyahu, hours before renewed Gaza City operations targeting Hamas’s “last important stronghold” and potential West Bank annexation considerations.
Trump learned about the Qatar strike through military tracking rather than advance notification, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced.
Personal envoy Steve Witkoff received Trump’s notification instructions for Qatar, though his alert arrived after Israeli bombs hit Doha.
The strike’s primary problem may have been failure rather than execution, former Israeli ambassador Michael Oren suggested, noting Israel killed six lower-level Hamas representatives instead of senior negotiators.
“The chances are, if our operation in Doha succeeded, Trump wouldn’t have condemned it, he would have taken credit for it. He likes winners,” Oren told the Wall Street Journal.
Similar logic might govern Gaza operations.
“There has to be someone standing with an Israeli flag saying we won. I think Bibi understands this about Trump,” Oren explained to the Wall Street Journal.