Biden’s support for Netanyahu may be wavering…
According to an NBC News report, President Joe Biden has grown increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has resorted to name-calling behind closed doors.
While Biden has pushed for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the POTUS says Bibi is “giving him hell.”
“He just feels like this is enough,” a source told NBC News. “It has to stop.”
Biden is said to have called Netanyahu an “a**hole” in private.
From NBC News:
The bluntness of Biden’s private, unfiltered reflections on Netanyahu, as well as the Israeli premier’s failure to shift tactics in Gaza, suggest that the dynamic between the two leaders could be nearing an inflection point.
…
Yet, people familiar with Biden’s private comments said he has told them he believes it would be counterproductive for him to be too harsh on Netanyahu publicly.
Biden’s frustrations with Netanyahu have also not led to a major policy shift, but his administration has begun to consider such options. Two weeks ago, officials told NBC News that the administration was discussing delaying or slowing U.S. weapons sales to Israel as leverage to get Netanyahu to dial down Israeli military operations in Gaza and do more to protect civilians.
“He did say Bibi started off great, but ‘he’s been a pain in my ass lately’ or ‘he’s been killing me lately’ — one of those things,” the person who was present for Biden’s comments recalled. “He goes, ‘But he’s doing a disservice … of late.’”
More over at NBC News:
President Biden has been venting his frustration in private conversations over his inability to persuade Israel to change military tactics in Gaza, and has named PM Netanyahu as the primary obstacle, according to people familiar with his comments. https://t.co/qDFyi1sLHP
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 12, 2024
