Trump told Netanyahu he'd be in prison without US support in Beirut dispute - report
Two tense calls were made Monday as the president demanded Israel halt Beirut strikes; Netanyahu pushed back, the Wall Street Journal reports
President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two heated phone calls Monday in which Trump demanded Israel halt its strikes on Beirut, with the second conversation escalating into a sharp personal confrontation, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, Trump grew increasingly angry during the calls as Netanyahu insisted on pressing ahead with operations against Hezbollah. In the most explosive moment, Trump told Netanyahu he would be facing prison without the backing of the White House, a pointed reference to the prime minister's ongoing corruption trial in Israel, which Trump has repeatedly called for him to be pardoned from.
The exchange is said to be part of a broader pattern of friction between the two leaders. Trump held another tense call with Netanyahu just last month and has reportedly used sharp language about the prime minister with aides on previous occasions, including over US objections to Israeli strikes on Hamas in Gaza.
The calls came on the same day Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut's Dahiyeh district following Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz's joint order, with both leaders vowing that Hezbollah's command infrastructure in the capital would not remain off-limits while northern Israeli communities were under fire.