David Axelrod Agrees With Trump After Reported Outburst at Netanyahu: ‘Not Wrong’

Democratic strategist David Axelrod said President Donald Trump is “not wrong” after Trump reportedly lost it on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Monday, Axios reported that the two leaders had a tense phone call in which Trump berated Netanyahu over Israel’s continued war in Lebanon. U.S. and Iranian officials have been trying to negotiate an end to the war on Iran, which began in February. Iran has insisted that any deal must include the cessation of Israeli military action in Lebanon, which Israel invaded again in March. Netanyahu has escalated the war in recent days by ordering bombings on the suburbs of Beirut.

Citing two U.S. officials familiar with the call, Axios reported that Trump went on a tirade against the prime minister.

“You’re f***ing crazy,” Trump reportedly told the prime minister. “Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.'”

A second source said Trump was “pissed” and asked Netanyahu, “What the f*** are you doing?”

On Monday’s OutFront on CNN, Erin Burnett read from the report before asking Axelrod, “What do you read into that?”

“It doesn’t sound like a very friendly call,” Axelrod replied. “Look, I think that the president, his analysis is not wrong. You know, Bibi Netanyahu has done tremendous damage, in my view, to Israel and to Israel’s standing in the world.”

Axelrod went on to reference a New York Times report from April in which the paper said Netanyahu gave a briefing to Trump and top U.S. officials in the White House Situation Room on February 11. The prime minister portrayed Iran as being ripe for a regime change and claimed that a sustained bombing campaign could achieve it. Seventeen days later, the U.S. and Israel began a joint bombing campaign.

“Bibi had a lot to do with talking the president into thinking this was a good idea,” Axelrod continued. “And that’s what he’s really mad about. What he’s mad about is Bibi has created a huge political problem for him because the economy is the thing that is on the minds of Americans, and he has made it worse. And he promised to make it better. And that was his calling card. He was Mr. Economy, and now their costs are going up, and we’re mired in this war.”

Shortly after the Axios report came out, Trump said he asked Netanyahu “not to go into a major raid of Beirut.”

“He turned his Troops around,” the president added.

Watch above via CNN.

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