SCMP Economy6/2/2026World1 min readChina

Trump Reportedly Called Netanyahu 'Crazy' Amid Strained US-Israel Ties

Quick Look

US President Donald Trump reportedly called Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu "crazy" in a profane phone call over Israel's threats to bomb Beirut, fearing it would undermine talks with Iran.
The incident highlights strained ties between the two leaders as both face political pressure.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, allies who previously went to war against Iran together, are experiencing strained relations. This comes amid the Middle East war and ahead of US midterm elections.

Font size

They went to war together against Iran, but Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s relationship is under strain after the US president reportedly called the Israeli premier “crazy”.

Trump unleashed a profane tirade over the phone at Netanyahu over Israel’s threats to bomb the Lebanese capital Beirut, fearing it would undermine talks with Tehran, the Axios news outlet and ABC News reported.

It underscored the increasingly shaky ties between two right-wing allies with lots to lose politically from the Middle East war – and who both face criticism for being in hock to the other.

Trump wants a way out of a war that has badly hit the US economy less than six months before midterm elections, which will decide if his Republican Party keeps control of Congress.

The second-term Republican president, 79, also faces growing criticism from parts of his Make America Great Again (Maga) coalition that he is doing Israel’s bidding in the Iran war.

Israel’s veteran prime minister meanwhile faces the possible collapse of his right-wing coalition and is under fire for bowing to Trump on matters of security after calling off a plan to attack Beirut.