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Trump made the remarks while speaking to senior aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on how to respond to Israel’s strike in Doha on September 11.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. (AP/File Photo)
US President Donald Trump told his top aides that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “f***ing me”, signalling frustration with his close ally after Israel launched a brazen strike on Qatar to kill Hamas leaders attending peace talks.
The remarks came as Trump spoke to senior aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on how to respond to Israel’s strike in Doha earlier this month, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Despite Trump’s frustrations with the Israeli PM, he is unlikely to publicly break with Netanyahu, as per the report.
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“He is f**king me,” an infuriated Trump said at the meeting. The exchange signals that Trump’s patience with Netanyahu is wearing thin amid Israeli operations across Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Qatar.
However, WSJ reported that Trump is broadly accommodating of Netanyahu’s decisions, even when they appear to contradict the White House’s stated goals with respect to the war in Gaza and broader Middle East relations. Trump has refused to put pressure on Israel to halt its devastating Gaza offensive.
This is also the second time that Trump has used the F-bomb to criticise Israel’s policies. In June, after the US brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran after a brief war launched by Israel to cripple Tehran’s nuclear programme, Trump told reporters both countries “have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.”
Israel’s Attack On Qatar
Israel unleashed airstrikes on September 11 on Qatar to target the political leadership of Hamas, who had gathered in Doha to discuss a peace proposal by Trump himself. The attack sparked alarm as Qatar is an ally of the United States and houses the biggest US military base in the Middle East, raising doubts on Trump’s credibility.
The US expressed disapproval over the attack. Senior US officials told WSJ that Trump held a heated call with Netanyahu, where he expressed frustration at the US not being alerted about the attack and said the decision to attack Qatar “wasn’t wise”.
However, Axios reported that Netanyahu spoke to Trump before the attack, which means the US was aware of the airstrikes. The White House claimed it was notified only after missiles were in the air, giving Trump no opportunity to oppose the strike.
“Trump knew about the strike before the missiles were launched. First there was a discussion on the political level between Netanyahu and Trump, and afterwards through military channels. Trump didn’t say no,” a senior Israeli official told Axios.
In the wake of the strike, Trump and top US officials met with the Qatari Prime Minister, where the president praised the Gulf emirate as a “great ally” and pledged that Israel won’t attack on its soil again.
“Netanyahu’s moves have prolonged the Gaza war, created trouble for Trump with other US allies in the region and made the expansion of the Abraham Accords excruciatingly difficult,” Shalom Lipner, a think tank fellow who served for decades in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, told WSJ.
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
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September 19, 2025, 16:43 IST
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