‘Ultimate Betrayal’: Trump Big Mad Over Netanyahu Congratulating Biden
Donald Trump was reportedly enraged last year when then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted out congratulations to President Joe Biden on his victory in the 2020 election.
Forward reports that journalist Michael Wolff’s new book, titled “Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency,” claims that Trump felt personally betrayed by Netanyahu’s call, even though it is custom for American allies to congratulate incoming presidents on their victories.
“It was startling to aides, however much they were anticipating an eruption, that Trump’s wrath fell on Bibi Netanyahu,” Wolff writes. “There was his belief that he had singularly done more for Israel than any American president — and that therefore he was owed. And now sold out.”
Much like Trump, Netanyahu was much less of a departure from his nation’s “democratic” “norms” than political and media elites would care to admit. https://t.co/OzWnbOs7VC
— The New Republic (@newrepublic) July 3, 2021
The Trump-Netanyahu bromance had been through several ups and downs in past years. In 2019, amid a political stalemate, Trump expressed his frustration that he had to postpone the rollout of his Middle East peace plan due to Netanyahu’s failure to form a government. Back in 2016, Trump said he was “disappointed” that Netanyahu condemned his plan to ban all Muslims entering the United States and canceled a planned trip to Israel in retaliation. But the two leaders patched things up once Trump came to power. Toward the end of his term, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump hosted Netanyahu at the White House for the signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords.
But on November 7th, hours after the media called the election for Joe Biden, Netanyahu tweeted his congratulations to the then-President-Elect, saying he’s looking forward to working with him “to further strengthen the special alliance between the U.S. and Israel.” A week later Netanyahu also placed a congratulatory call to Joe Biden.
"Trump and Netanyahu’s relationship forced American Jews to confront the contradiction between the pluralism they support at home and the Jewish nationalism they have made peace with abroad."
This guy @AdamSerwer does a good job, makes the (Black &) Jewish community proud https://t.co/pVe6SbBpEy
— Jake M. Grumbach (@JakeMGrumbach) July 7, 2021
Trump described Netanyahu’s tweet congratulating Biden as an “ultimate betrayal.”
What’s more, Trump’s frustration with Netanyahu was coupled with his anger that so few American Jews had voted for him, as he believed they would be loyal to him for supporting Israel so staunchly, Wolff claims.
"Sore losers: Trump and Netanyahu have a lot in common" (@TheHillOpinion) https://t.co/DodeqYBM0K pic.twitter.com/gqX6Nrqkmp
— The Hill (@thehill) July 7, 2021
Things must still be chilly between the two. While President Biden is expected to host new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House later this month, Netanyahu, the new opposition leader, has yet to receive an invitation to spend a summer weekend at the Trump golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.