Netanyahu Dismisses Trump Rift Reports: ‘Couldn’t Be Better’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed reports of a rift with President Donald Trump, saying their relationship “couldn’t be better” despite disagreements over key foreign policy issues.

In an interview on Newsmax’s “The Record With Greta Van Susteren,” Netanyahu said the close relationship between the two leaders has allowed them to speak candidly, including on issues where they do not see eye to eye. 

“He said it couldn’t be better,” Netanyahu said, referring to Trump’s own description of their relationship. “Friends can have agreements and disagreements.”

Netanyahu acknowledged that one disagreement involves the Trump administration’s consideration of selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. Trump has said he would consider the sale while also moving to lift U.S. sanctions on Turkey, drawing concerns from Israeli officials.

“I think this is not a good thing,” Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader stressed that he has conveyed those concerns directly to Trump rather than through public statements.

“What I’m telling you, I say to my friend, Donald Trump, the president of the United States, in private conversations. It’s not that I’m hiding it,” he said.

Rather than viewing those disagreements as evidence of a strained alliance, Netanyahu argued they demonstrate the resilience of the relationship between the two countries.

“This is a real friendship, a real alliance.”

He said Israel remains deeply appreciative of its alliance with the United States, describing both nations as democratic societies where political disagreements can occur openly without undermining the broader partnership.

“We’re a robust democracy, too,” Netanyahu said of Israel. “I never lose sight of the fact that it is the ability to have disagreements that marks a free country.”

Contrasting Israel and the United States with countries such as Iran and Turkey, Netanyahu argued that authoritarian governments suppress dissent rather than tolerate open political debate.

“That’s not the American way, and it’s not the Israeli way,” he said. “Thank God we have our two democracies to continue the tradition of freedom and open discourse.”