Donald Trump has launched a foul-mouthed attack on Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview, claiming he has not spoken with "Bibi" since the former Israeli prime minister congratulated President Joe Biden on his election victory.
According to journalist Barak Ravid, who conducted two interviews with the former president for his book Trump's Peace: The Abraham Accords and the Reshaping of the Middle East, Trump described feeling let down because Netanyahu did not support his false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. Ravid said Trump added: "F*** him."
On January 20, Netanyahu congratulated Biden on his "historic" inauguration, adding that the pair had a "warm personal friendship going back many decades."
According to transcripts released by Ravid, Trump told the journalist: "Nobody did more for Bibi. And I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi. But I also like loyalty."
Trump also wrongly states that Netanyahu was one of the first people to congratulate Biden on his victory. In fact, the then Israeli prime minister waited several hours after the election was called for Biden to congratulate him. His message arrived after greetings from a number of other world leaders.
The former president said: "The first person to congratulate Biden was Bibi. And not only did he congratulate him, he did it on tape. And it was on tape.
"The first person who congratulated Joe Biden, because this was an election in dispute, it's still in dispute. The first person who congratulated was Bibi Netanyahu, the man that I did more for than any other person I dealt with."
Trump added: "Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake.
"He was very early. Like earlier than most. I haven't spoken to him since. F**k him."
Trump also told Ravid that his 2019 decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights helped Netanyahu ahead of elections that took place one month later.
"That was a big deal. People say that was a $10 billion gift. I did it right before the election, which helped him [Netanyahu] a lot," Trump told the reporter. "He would have lost the election if it wasn't for me. So he tied. He went up a lot after I did it. He went up 10 points or 15 points after I did Golan Heights."
At the time, Amnesty International described Trump's move on the disputed territory "irresponsible, reckless and yet another example of the Trump administration violating international law and consensus by condoning Israel's illegal annexation."
During his time in office, Trump also withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, which had been fiercely opposed by Israel. During his conversations with Ravid, Trump condemned Biden for attempting to restore the agreement and claimed he was responsible for saving Israel from attacks.
"Now Biden is going back to the deal because he has no clue. The Israelis fought this deal and Obama wouldn't listen to them," Trump said.
"Had I not come along, I think Israel was going to be destroyed. OK. You want to know the truth? I think Israel would have been destroyed—maybe by now."
The Trump administration also moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as part of efforts to recognize the holy city as the capital of Israel.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.
Update 12/10/21, 7:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated to add extra information.
