Reality check: Not everything was rosy in the relationship. At a relatively early stage, Trump realized that Bibi was dragging his feet in the effort to reach peace with the Palestinians. Trump kept most of his bitterness about Netanyahu private for years, especially because his public bromance with Bibi was good politics.
But when Biden won the 2020 election, the Trump-Bibi relationship suffered a severe blow: Trump was furious that Netanyahu congratulated his political rival for his victory. "F-ck him," Trump told me of Netanyahu three months after leaving the White House. For almost four years, he didn't speak to Netanyahu and after the October 7 attack, he even criticized Bibi for his failure.
Only last summer, in the middle of the election campaign, did Trump meet Netanyahu again when he hosted him at Mar-a-Lago. – Axios (Barak Ravid)
Our Take: Barak Ravid is not just Trump's go-to Israeli journalist, but he's also former Israeli Military Intelligence.
Very few people on Trump's team knew in advance that he would go so far as to pronounce the U.S. would "own" the war-scarred enclave — a highly interventionist endeavor for a long-time critic of U.S. nation-building around the world.
Trump's displacement plan was praised by members of the Israeli far-right as a "green light" for full Israeli occupation of Gaza and the building of settlements. A source close to Trump said that's not his intention.
The Saudis were also upset about Trump's claim at the top of his meeting with Netanyahu that the kingdom won't condition normalization of relations with Israel on Palestinian statehood.
"The Saudi crown prince doesn't want to be seen as being part of what Trump is talking about," the U.S. source said.
"He is a disruptor. He wanted to challenge the discourse," a source close to Trump said.
Not everything was rosy in the relationship. Trump kept most of his bitterness about Netanyahu private for years, especially because his public bromance with Bibi was good politics.
"A lot of time has passed and their relations have improved, but Trump still does not like Bibi, does not trust Bibi", a U.S. source close to Trump told [Ravid].
Nothing is as it seems. This is still an active psywar battlefield, and President Trump has dispensed a thick fog of war, as he flies around like a ninja, laying plans and preparing his next moves, as others are caught flat-footed and awe-struck, dumbfounded by what they are witnessing.
Ravid also posted this video on X from the 2016 Republican Primary, which is an incredible clip, given the current news cycle.
Rubio will travel to Saudi Arabia next, as MBS is summoning the UN for an emergency meeting to thwart efforts to displace the Palestinians.
Next week, King Abdullah of Jordan will visit the White House, and Egyptian President Sisi will come the following week. I fully expect Trump's position to evolve, significantly, after those meetings.
Meanwhile, it is looking like Netanyahu may have just torpedoed the hostage ceasefire deal, after he changed the terms, demanding that Hamas leadership leave Gaza forever (Hamas has already rejected it). I suspect he has been emboldened by Trump's rhetoric — and perhaps that was the point.
If Netanyahu screws up this hostage deal, after everything he's been given, Trump will be free and clear to drop the hammer on Bibi.
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