Trump confirms he cursed at & called Netanyahu 'crazy' despite Israeli media denial

U.S. president Donald Trump has confirmed that he called Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu "crazy" and cursed at him in an expletive-laden phone call.

This was despite Israeli media denying the claims originally reported by the American news site Axios.

Axios quoted an unidentified U.S. official, who claimed that Trump told Netanyahu, "Are you f**king crazy? You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this."

According to Reuters, the phone exchange was over Israel's conflict with Lebanon as the U.S. was negotiating to end hostilities with Iran.

'I did'

In a Pod Force One podcast interview on Jun. 3, the New York Post's Miranda Devine asked Trump if he made those comments to Netanyahu and if he spoke in those terms.

Trump confirmed the comments and said, "I wouldn't say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with ​Lebanon, you know."

Trump continued and said he and Netanyahu have a good relationship.

Trump added: "At some point, I said, ​Bibi, we got to stop this. We got to stop it."

Israeli media denials

On Jun. 2, Israeli media stated that Netanyahu's office did not respond to the report and that unnamed staffers denied core aspects of Axios' report, including the claim that Trump had cursed at Netanyahu.

Later, a senior Israeli official briefed on the call told Israeli media that the staff member's account was accurate.

Netanyahu declined to comment on conversation details

In an interview with CNBC on Jun. 3, Netanyahu declined to comment on his conversation with Trump when asked about the Axios report.

However, Netanyahu said his relationship with Trump did not change: "We have common goals. Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, you have these tactical disagreements."

"He's been the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House, and he respects me; I respect him. We always find a ​way to work out our differences," Netanyahu added.

According to Reuters, Iran has previously said it would not agree to a ceasefire deal with the U.S. to end the war that Trump and Netanyahu started in late February 2026 unless it also covers Lebanon.

Israel invaded Lebanon in March, following the Hezbollah militia's cross-border strikes in support of Iran.

Despite a U.S.-mediated agreement on Jun. 1, where Israel agreed to step back from attacking Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs and Hezbollah's agreement to stop strikes, hostilities have continued.

Reuters reported that at least six people in southern Lebanon were killed in Israeli drone strikes, and a car was targeted on Jun. 3.

Israel also said it intercepted a hostile aircraft likely fired by Hezbollah.

Trump says 'I'm the one that started it'

In the Pod Force One interview, Devine asked Trump what he would say to people who claimed Netanyahu tricked him into going to war with Iran.

Trump responded, saying that his critics were "the enemy" and that he was the one who started the war.

Trump said, "I started because we can't let them have a nuclear weapon. Now that pertains to Israel, because they probably would have been the first one to get hit."

"There would be no Israel. Tell you what, if there wasn't ​me, there would be no Israel right now," Trump added.

Trump said Israel would be in a worse-off position if he had not abandoned a 2015 accord made by former U.S. president Barack Obama, where Tehran agreed to cut back its nuclear programme in return for lifting sanctions.

In 2018, during his first term, Trump withdrew from the deal, and Iran started producing stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, which was near-weapons-grade, according to Reuters.

Trump has demanded that Iran relinquish its stockpiles, and Trump's critics say it will be hard for him to negotiate a better deal.