Trump: I’m not ‘frustrated’ with Netanyahu, he’s ‘right to be angry’
President Donald Trump has denied recent reports of a rift between himself and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid claims that the president is “frustrated” with Netanyahu over his handling of the war in Gaza, hostage deal talks with Hamas, and a possible nuclear deal with Iran.
Speaking with Fox News‘ Bret Baier on Friday, Trump responded to a question regarding his Middle East trip last week, which did not include a stopover in Israel as it did during a similar trip during his first term in office, and whether it indicated he was in fact “frustrated” with Netanyahu.
“No,” Trump replied, adding that Netanyahu is an “angry man” while justifying the anger, citing the atrocities that Israelis endured on October 7, 2023.
“Look, he has got a tough situation. You have to remember, there was an October 7th that everyone forgets,” Trump continued, calling the invasion “one of the most violent days in the history of the world – not the Middle East, the world.”
“Look at the tapes, the tapes are there for everyone to see. So he has that problem, and that problem should never have happened. If I were president, that problem wouldn’t have happened because Iran had no money. They were stone cold broke and they weren’t giving money to Hamas.”
“I think I can say that Bibi – he is an angry man. And he should be because of October 7th. And he has been hurt badly by that,” he said.
Trump lauded the Israeli leader’s response to the Hamas invasion, saying Netanyahu “fought hard and bravely.”
When asked whether the war in Gaza is likely to end in the near future, Trump reiterated his recent comments that the U.S. should take control over the coastal enclave and turn it into a “freedom zone,” without elaborating.
“Gaza is a nasty place. It has been that way for years. I think it should become a free zone. I call it a Freedom Zone,” he said.
The status quo ante, Trump added, “doesn’t work. Every 10 years they go back. They have Hamas. They [people] being killed all over the place.”
