The book, written by well-known journalist Bob Woodward, details extensive, behind-the-scenes reporting on both Biden and Trump.
US President Joe Biden's frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached breaking point this spring over Netanyahu's conduct in the war between Israel and Hamas, an explosive new book written by well-known US journalist Bob Woodward reveals.
The book, which is officially out next week, says that Biden unleased a profanity-laden tirade over Netanyahu after the Israeli military entered Rafah calling him a "liar", and a "bad guy", saying that the Israeli leader had "no strategy."
Woodward reported that Biden said he felt Netanyahu had lied to him regularly, adding that Biden had threatened to withhold US weapons after Netanyahu became increasingly threatening over Hamas.
Biden has publicly voiced support for Israel, often in the face of international criticism as Israel continues its bombardment of the Gaza strip killing over 41,000 people according to local health authorities.
White House spokesperson Emilie Simons told reporters on Tuesday that, "the commitment we have to the state of Israel is ironclad."
She added that Biden and Netanyahu have a "long-term relationship. They have a very honest and direct relationship, and I don’t have a comment on those specific anecdotes.”
Elsewhere in the book, which relies largely on anonymous sources, Woodward says that former US President Donald Trump sent Russian President Vladimir Putin COVID-19 tests for his personal use at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Woodward writes that Putin told Trump not to reveal that he had sent him tests, with Trump eventually agreeing.
Several news agencies reported in 2020 that Trump's administration had sent ventilators and other equipment to several countries, including Russia.
Trump's campaign team has adamantly denied the claim, insisting that Woodward had no access to Trump, calling the allegations "made-up" according to local media citing a campaign spokesperson.
Trump previously sued Woodward for his 2021 book, titled Rage, which included taped interviews between the pair, with Trump telling Woodward he wanted to "play down" the COVID-19 virus.
In the upcoming novel, Woodward also claims that Trump has had multiple calls with Putin since leaving office.
Trump has previously come under scrutiny for his relationship with Putin. He once called the Russian leader "pretty smart" for his decision to invade Ukraine and has frequently publicly criticised US support for the war-torn country, arguing that Ukraine should have made concessions to Russia before it was invaded in 2022.
TheObeseWombat on October 12nd, 2024 at 04:18 UTC »
Well, literally no one likes Bibi, he's genuinely one of the most interpersonally unpleasant politicians alive, as attested by tons of people. And all the leaks and the language from the white House and state department have made it very obvious they're not happy with how the war is currently going and conducted... it just somehow never results in any policy change. No pressure is ever put on Israel.
gadarnol on October 11st, 2024 at 22:34 UTC »
The best reviews of this book all say the same thing: contempt for journalists who gather information like this and don’t report it at the time but save it for the book.
TendieRetard on October 11st, 2024 at 21:40 UTC »
Submission statement:
Friction in the WH (vis-a-vis Israel) revels foreign policy publicly expressed at odds w/the privately held beliefs which closer align with those of leftier factions of the democratic party. Despite this, funding for the 'ally' continues. Here are some choice words from the white house:
https://archive.ph/KXJrk#selection-4881.0-4884.0
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/08/politics/bob-woodward-book-war-joe-biden-putin-netanyahu-trump/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/08/bob-woodward-new-book-war-trump-putin-biden/
“That son of a bitch, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad guy. He’s a bad fucking guy!”
“He’s a fucking liar.” Biden told Netanyahu, “Bibi, you have no strategy.”
"He doesn't give a shit about Hamas. He gives a shit only about himself. He's a fucking liar. 18 out of 19 people that work for him are fucking liars"
“You know the perception of Israel around the world increasingly is that you’re a rogue state, a rogue actor.”
“The Israelis always do this,” was the reaction of Brett McGurk, Biden’s Middle East coordinator, according to the book. “They claim ‘We got the intel! You’ll see it. You’ll see it.’ But like 50 percent of the time the so-called intel doesn’t actually show up.” Apparent drones reported by the Israelis turned out to be birds.
Blinken’s impression of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s approach was: “It doesn’t matter how many people die. I have a mission to eradicate Hamas and it doesn’t matter how many Palestinians die. It doesn’t matter how many Israelis die.”