Trump and Netanyahu Reportedly at Odds over Lebanon

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly clashed on their shared affairs in the Middle East during a phone conversation on Monday.

The Comments: Trump told Netanyahu, "You're f–king crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this," according to a summary cited by Axios (Lean Left bias). He reportedly at one point asked, "What the f*** are you doing?"

How The Media Covered It: Outlets across the political spectrum, including The Times of Israel (Center), covered the meeting; however, coverage was much more prominent on the left and in the center, especially on Trump's alleged expletives. Such framing on the right was mostly confined to outlets with more sensationalist biases, such as New York Post (Lean Right) and Daily Mail (Lean Right). Though Axios first reported the comments, it only cited anonymous sources. Trump did, however, confirm reports in an interview on Wednesday and said, "I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constant fighting with Lebanon."

The Details: Trump reportedly initiated the meeting after Israel's military actions in Lebanon began to threaten the viability of a potential US-Iran ceasefire agreement, despite Hezbollah's simultaneous strikes against Israel. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly said a "ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon."

After the roughly 15-minute phone call, Netanyahu announced, "I spoke with President Trump this evening and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our cities and citizens, Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut… the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon." Trump contrastingly said, "There will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back. Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop – That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel." Reuters (Center) has since reported that "hostilities have continued."

Slanted Sourcing? Some media commentators accused Israeli reporter and former IDF intelligence officer Barak Ravid, one of the two Axios reporters, of engaging in propaganda for the Israeli government. Caitlin Johnstone wrote, "Barak Ravid has made a whole career out of these articles telling Americans they don't need to worry about the latest horrifying war because the president is taking care of it," citing the Axios headline and similar framing of the Biden administration. Earlier in May, Glenn Greenwald (Center) referred to Ravid as an "Israeli spy" and claimed he worked six years as an intelligence operative and served as an IDF reservist until 2023.

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