In the wake of reports about a contentious phone call between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even some of the US president’s most ardent critics are acknowledging that he seems to be on the right track.
Trump reportedly took issue with Netanyahu’s strategy of escalating the war in Lebanon, and longtime Democratic strategist David Axelrod was among those who credited him for intervening in a potentially positive way.
The Hill provided this report:
Two U.S. officials and a third source briefed on the call told Axios that Trump referred to Netanyahu as “crazy” and yelled, “What the f— are you doing?” during the call.
ADVERTISEMENTWhen asked about the reported conversation by CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront,” Axelrod said, “It doesn’t sound like a very friendly call.”
“Look, I think that the president — his analysis is not wrong. I think — you know — Bibi Netanyahu has done tremendous damage, in my view, to Israel and to Israel’s standing in the world. And, this war — I think what Trump’s really mad about, if you believe the reporting in The New York Times on this … Bibi had a lot to do with talking the president into thinking this was a good idea, and that’s what he’s really mad about.”
“What he’s mad about is Bibi has created a huge political problem for him, because the economy is the thing that is on the minds of Americans, and he has made it worse,” Axelrod added.
The call between the two world leaders sparked plenty of headlines and social media chatter this week:
Trump straight-up telling Netanyahu, “I’m saving your ass, the world hates Israel because of this,” and “What the f*** are you doing?” — that’s the America First leadership we elected.
No more letting allies drag us into their wars, screw up our diplomacy, and make America look…
— The Ugly Patriot (@the_uglypatriot) June 2, 2026
Trump went Nicky Santoro on Netanyahu 😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/W96VVZK6yX
— Kevin Smith FBA🇺🇸 (@kevinDAtruth88) June 2, 2026
Of course, plenty of people were skeptical of the official media narrative:
Axios claims Trump called Netanyahu today, told him to stand down in Lebanon, and cursed him out:
“You’re f*cking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel.”
File this under things that never happened. pic.twitter.com/SCS12u0fjh
— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) June 2, 2026
In any case, Trump insists the stage is still set for talks to continue in the region, per Fox News:
President Donald Trump denied reports that the U.S. and Iran are no longer engaged in peace talks on Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENTTrump, writing on his Truth Social account, saying conversations with Iran continued through the weekend and into this week.
“Fake News Reports that the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the U.S.A., stopped speaking a few days ago are false and erroneous. The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today,” Trump wrote.
“Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal. You’ve been doing this for 47 years, and it cannot be allowed to go on any longer!'” he added.
Here’s some additional commentary on the situation:
What are your thoughts?
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!