Trump and Netanyahu feud: A history of US-Israel leader clashes
Yashraj Sharma
Reports of strains between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have emerged after Washington’s deal with Iran. But past public spats have rarely changed Washington’s fundamental support for the Jewish state. From Eisenhower’s ultimatum over Suez to Obama’s record aid package, a pattern holds: even bitter presidential conflict with Israeli leaders has not altered core U.S. backing.
Relations between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are under fresh strain after Washington reached a deal with Iran to end the war. Israel has strongly opposed the accord and continued airstrikes on Lebanon even after the deal was formally signed on Wednesday.
Speaking at the G7 summit in France on Tuesday, Trump expressed displeasure over Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, saying Netanyahu needed to be “more responsible.” Earlier, on Sunday, Trump condemned an Israeli bombing of Beirut just as the Iran deal was being finalised.
U.S. media have run multiple stories citing unnamed sources about a rift between the two leaders, but such tensions have never yet weakened Washington’s backing for its close ally. In fact, some of the most bitter public clashes have been accompanied by deeper security cooperation and unchanged military aid to Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu once excoriated former President Barack Obama for signing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, yet the Obama administration still gave Israel the largest military aid package in history – $38 billion.
What is happening between Trump and Netanyahu?
Israel is furious that the U.S.-Iran agreement demands a halt to fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon. Israeli forces now control about 20 percent of Lebanese territory, and Netanyahu and his cabinet have declared they will not withdraw.
In a rare move, the U.S. president criticised Israel over civilian casualties. “Too many people have died. You don’t have to blow up an entire apartment building every time you’re looking for somebody,” Trump said on Tuesday, alluding to Israeli tactics in Lebanon.
On June 2, Axios reported that Trump called Netanyahu “a fucking idiot” and criticised the escalation in Lebanon, where nearly 4,000 people have been killed and 1.2 million displaced. Israeli media in May 2025 also reported a rift between the two leaders over Netanyahu’s Middle East trip that skipped Israel and Washington’s outreach to Iran and its allies.
Trump is said to have persuaded Netanyahu to accept the Gaza ceasefire deal, telling him: “Bibi, you can’t fight the whole world.”
A history of US–Israel leader conflicts
Eisenhower vs Ben-Gurion (1956–57)
This is considered the most serious confrontation. Israel, together with Britain and France, attacked Egypt after Cairo nationalised the Suez Canal, enraging President Dwight Eisenhower. Washington feared the war would boost Soviet influence and demanded Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion withdraw, threatening economic and diplomatic pressure. Egypt kept the canal. Analysts call this the most successful pressure a U.S. president has ever exerted on Israel.
Bush vs Shamir (1991–92)
After the Gulf War, President George H.W. Bush sought Arab-Israeli peace talks and opposed expansion of Israeli settlements. The Bush administration delayed $10 billion in loan guarantees that Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir requested until Israel addressed the settlement issue. Still, basic aid was not cut and military ties continued to expand.
Clinton vs Netanyahu (1996–99)
Only a month after taking office in 1996, Netanyahu met President Bill Clinton in Washington. Clinton later asked an aide: “Who does he think he is? Who is the superpower here?” Netanyahu opposed the Oslo Accords’ settlement freeze and later boasted about undermining the peace process. The settler population grew from 250,000 in the 1990s to 700,000 today. Despite tensions, Clinton mediated the 1998 Wye River Memorandum.
Obama vs Netanyahu (2009–16)
This was the most public confrontation in recent decades. Relations soured over settlement construction and Iran nuclear talks. The low point came in 2015 when Netanyahu accepted a Republican invitation to address Congress against Obama’s Iran policy without coordinating with the White House. Yet the following year, Obama signed the $38 billion aid package for Israel, stating: “America’s commitment to Israel’s security is unshakeable.”
Is Israel still a strategic asset for the U.S.?
According to Yossi Mekelberg, an expert at Chatham House, Trump likes Netanyahu because he sees similarities: pragmatic, self-serving and ready for war. But now Trump appears to be pushing Netanyahu into a corner. “The U.S.-Israel relationship goes beyond any single person, but bipartisan support for Israel is weakening in America,” Mekelberg said. “If Israel was once seen as a strategic asset, under Netanyahu it is increasingly viewed as a burden.”
