US President Donald Trump lambasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a tense call in September 2025, demanding he accept a US-backed Gaza ceasefire and saying that “all the Jews are sick of you,” a book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan details.
The book, “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump”, talks about Trump’s second term as president, during which the Republican leader brokered the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
According to the book, during the heated exchange, Trump said, “Everybody’s sick of you, Bibi. All the Jews are sick of you. Even the two Jews on this call are sick of you,” referring to Jewish US officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The call took place in September 2025, during the United Nations General Assembly when Trump was pushing to end the war in Gaza and to rebuild the Strip.
Israel had launched an airstrike on Qatar targeting Hamas leadership as they were preparing to discuss a ceasefire deal with Tel Aviv earlier that month. Although the strike did not kill the Hamas leaders, other members of Hamas died in the attack along with one Qatari guard.
Trump also told Netanyahu in the call that he was not allowed to “back out” from the Gaza ceasefire deal proposed by the US.
“I’m the best friend Israel ever had,” he told Netanyahu. “Everybody hates you, and I’ve stood by you.”
“Con Man”
In a separate excerpt of the book, it was alleged that Trump called Netanyahu a “con man” in the early days of his second administration.
The quotes from the book come at a time when the relationship between Trump and Netanyahu already sees an upheaval because of disagreements related to the ceasefire deal between the US and Iran.
“F***ing Crazy”
In a recent call, earlier this month, Trump had called Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” over Israel’s escalation in Lebanon, which threatened to jeopardise the peace talks with Iran, and accused him of ingratitude, according to a report by Axios.
Trump also claimed he had helped keep Netanyahu out of jail — a reference to his support during the Israeli leader’s corruption trial.
“You’re fucking crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” Trump told Netanyahu, according to the Axios report.
At one point, a source said Trump got “pissed” with Netanyahu and asked him, “What the fuck are you doing?”
However, he later told the publication that his relationship with Netanyahu is “good” and the US has to “keep him a little bit sane”.
But Netanyahu has dismissed the idea of a structural crisis in interviews, such as with CNBC. He characterised the friction as mere “tactical disagreements” that occur in “the best of families”, maintaining that he and Trump still agree on major objectives.
