President Donald Trump couldn’t resist slipping in a few sly remarks about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a speech celebrating the ceasefire agreement and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas.
While addressing the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on Monday, Trump spent most of his time reading prepared remarks praising Netanyahu for his role in finally ending the two-year conflict in Gaza, declaring the agreement a “historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
However, the president—known for rambling and going off-script during public speaking—still managed to throw in a few digs and jokes at Netanyahu’s expense.
The remarks appear to support reports that Trump and White House officials were getting increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu’s aggressive actions in the region during the war in Gaza, including a surprise attack on Qatar, a key U.S. ally.
“I want to express my gratitude to a man of exceptional courage and patriotism whose partnership did so much to make this momentous day possible,” Trump said. “You know who I’m talking about, there’s only one, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
After urging his close ally “Bibi” to stand up and accept the applause, Trump was quick to remind the room full of Israeli lawmakers, “And he is not easy.”
“I want to tell you, he’s not the easiest guy to deal with. But that’s what makes him great,” Trump added.
Trump also suggested that Netanyahu could “be a little nicer because you’re not at war anymore.”
In another extraordinary off-script moment, Trump told the Knesset that the timing of the ceasefire was crucial, as the war in Gaza—which began after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in 2023 and has since left an estimated 67,000 Palestinians dead—was “getting heated.”
“Bibi, you’re going to be remembered for this far more than if you kept this thing going, going, going, kill, kill, kill,” Trump said.
Elsewhere, Trump took a jab at the length of Netanyahu’s speech, which preceded his own, telling the Knesset he’d been kept “quite late” by Netanyahu’s “brilliant but very long speech.”
“I thought I was going to run up here, make a speech, and then head to Egypt,” Trump said, referencing the Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh with more than 20 world leaders.
Not all of Trump’s unscripted remarks were backhanded compliments or digs. He also used his speech to openly call on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu over his ongoing corruption and bribery charges.
“Hey, I have an idea, Mr. President, why don’t you give him a pardon? Give him a pardon, come on,” Trump told Herzog, who was seated nearby.
“This has been one of the greatest wartime presidents, and cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that?” Trump added.
Netanyahu’s long-running criminal case includes allegations that he accepted gifts such as champagne and cigars in exchange for political favors.
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