When Trump officially called Netanyahu a liar

There are few leaders in the world, if any, who have been officially called liars by the White House. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apparently created a precedent.

His comments at a Likud faction meeting on Monday, that he was holding talks with the Americans about applying Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, were met with surprise and anger at the White House. Not only did the Americans demand that Netanyahu issue an immediate clarification, but they also issued a statement of their own, calling Netanyahu's comments “false.”

PM Netanyahu (L) and President Trump. What the president is allowed to do isn't necessarily acceptable when it comes to his imitators (Photo: AP)

Former President Barack Obama had a similar opinion about Netanyahu, but he didn’t make an official statement about it. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy complained to Obama at the G20 summit in Cannes that he couldn’t stand Netanyahu because he was a liar. The US president responded by saying: "You're fed up with him? I have to deal with him every day." Neither leader realized that the microphones had been switched on.

Netanyahu saw Obama as a bad president for Israel, not as a friend. Donald Trump, on the other hand, in Netanyahu's opinion, is the greatest friend Israel ever had at the White House. And he, of all people, is the one who officially issued Netanyahu a liar’s certificate. What cosmic irony.

Trump, of all people, is the one who officially issued Netanyahu a liar's certificate (Photo: Reuters)

When Trump looks at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he seeks to achieve one of two things: Either the “deal of the century,” as he has bragged, or at least to create an outward appearance that he is maintaining the United States’ global position as a decent mediator.

So far, Netanyahu has given him neither. In his comments about West Bank annexation being discussed between Jerusalem and Washington, Netanyahu dealt a heavy blow to Trump’s attempts, which seem almost desperate now, to maintain America’s global standing.

The truth isn’t Trump’s guiding principle. But on Monday, the White House wasn’t just angered by Netanyahu's lies, but by the liberty he took to get the American administration in trouble with the world, which is already furious with Trump over his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The White House’s statement Monday was also aimed at conveying the message that what the president is allowed to do isn’t necessarily acceptable when it comes to his imitators.

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