Some insiders want Trump to go ‘public’ with Netanyahu beef

Trump has faced increasing coalitional pressure to end the war as domestic concerns grow and the midterm elections loom. Possible cracks in support for the war are evident. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), who’s running for Senate with Trump’s backing, said the war could become a “political liability” if it lingers, though she said she “supports his mission to keep nuclear weapons out of Iran’s hands.”

One former Trump administration official suggested that Israel’s plan to resume fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon illustrated that Israel has “different interests than we do” as it relates to the Iranian conflict and “can f*** up our interests at any given moment.”

“Iran considers any hostilities with Hezbollah as part of this conflict, so at any moment Israel can basically blow up the entire deal,” the former official said. “So I think it would be great if the president said what he said to [Netanyahu] publicly. I think it would go a long way domestically to show it’s kind of clear that Israel is not being a good friend.”

A second former Trump staffer, who held a national security role in the first Trump administration, agreed that Trump should give more public notice on his disagreements with Netanyahu.

“This thing is getting so crazy with the back-and-forth with POTUS on Iran that only he knows what the state of play is with Netanyahu,” the former staffer wrote to the Washington Examiner. “Trump himself said the other day, the negotiations with Iran are getting, frankly, pretty boring, so that shows how nuts this is becoming.”

Another former and one current senior administration official also voiced concern to the Washington Examiner that, despite ongoing talks, the president may be forced to reescalate fighting with Iran before long.

The third former Trump official additionally noted that, even with the ceasefire officially in place, Iran has continued its own attacks on Gulf allies and U.S. military assets in the region.

“How long can the stalemate go on until there’s a breaking point?” they questioned. “One of these times, if one of their strikes gets through and there’s [American] casualties, then we’re back at war, no matter what is going on with Israel and Lebanon and the negotiations, so the whole situation is just very perilous on multiple fronts.”

The current senior Trump administration aide noted that, historically, Trump “usually” takes Netanyahu’s position on security issues and said that it “wouldn’t be surprising” if the president determines that Iran is “stringing him along” in peace talks.

White House officials declined to comment on the president’s Monday call with Netanyahu.

Axios reported Monday that Trump unloaded a string of profanities at Netanyahu, accusing him of jeopardizing American negotiators’ efforts.

US AGREES TO 60-DAY CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT WITH IRAN, BUT TRUMP HAS YET TO GIVE FINAL APPROVAL

“You’re f*****g crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me,” the president allegedly told his counterpart. “I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.”

Netanyahu later released a statement saying that Israel’s position regarding Hezbollah had not changed and that the country would carry out strikes on targets in and around Beirut if attacked first.