The US president and Israel’s prime minister are as united now, today, this week, and last week as they have been for the last several months. They share a vision for the Middle East. The difference between them is in timing and personality.
So, no, despite the headline-grabbing media hype, there has been no breakdown in their relationship. Their friendship has not eroded; communication between them has not halted.
And while, yes, US President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu did engage in a tense, heated phone conversation, that conversation is par for the course.
Calling Netanyahu “crazy” and telling him “you’d be in prison if it weren’t for me” was Trump blowing off steam. It was his frustration over Bibi’s decision-making vis-à-vis Lebanon and his fear that it was threatening negotiations with Iran.
It was the juicy stuff, and the media and the public love to exaggerate this into a huge conflict.
What’s not so juicy is hearing that neither their friendship nor their communication was damaged because they disagreed and because things got heated. World leaders disagreeing about world-shaping events is perfectly normal.
These two leaders are powerful and opinionated, and neither one of them likes it when they do not get their way. Neither one takes it calmly when there are obstacles placed in front of them, especially not when they had already made their positions clear.
Trump told Bibi that there should be no more attacks in Lebanon because it was harming US negotiations with Iran. And Bibi told Trump that Israel needs to protect Israeli citizens, which means attacking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Think of their conversation, in essence, as an immovable force meeting an unstoppable object. Your choice as to who is immovable and who is unstoppable. The bottom line is that on this issue, there will be no agreement.
But know that a disagreement on an issue is not a communication breakdown.
Tactical disagreements, not a strategic rupture
In an interview with CNBC after the now-famous, expletive-filled phone call, Bibi lent context to their conversation. The prime minister said: “Sometimes we have, as in the best of families, tactical disagreements.”
“We always find a way to work them out, and we do so as great friends. We can disagree in the morning, and by the afternoon, we have common actions,” he stated.
To best understand their interaction, one must also understand that their styles of leadership are very similar. That similarity is one of the reasons why, at the same time, Trump and Netanyahu both get along so well and are so explosive with each other.
Both of them are polarizing and dominating personalities who often improvise. They are team leaders, not team players. They are what I call reactive decision-makers.
Neither Trump nor Netanyahu takes well to losing or to negatives. In this latest kerfuffle, Trump thought that Bibi had undermined him publicly by targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon. Bibi thought otherwise.
Politics inside Israel: after Hezbollah strikes at Israel from Lebanon, Bibi could not be seen as weak, and Israel had to strike back.
These leaders will be managed neither by their advisers nor by one another.
There is no difference between the goals of Trump and Netanyahu when it comes to Iran and Hezbollah. They both agree that Iran is a real threat and that Hezbollah is a serious problem.
Netanyahu wants to protect. Trump wants a resolution.
Their respective goals align; it’s their tactics and timing that are out of sync. Trump wants physical outcomes brought about through quick negotiation and resolution. Bibi wants continued pressure until the threat is neutralized.
Trump wants talks and agreements, and Bibi wants continued pressure involving military strikes.
It is a serious mistake for anyone, especially Iran and Hezbollah, to think that this squabble means that the Trump White House is wavering on support for Israel. While their instincts differ, they are undeniably united in their goal – an end to the conflict.
Trump is a deal-maker. For the US president, the conflict ends when he signs a terrific deal. Bibi is a protector. For Israel’s prime minister, the conflict ends when the threat is reduced, and Israel is, once again, safer. He cannot afford a resolution which is either incomplete or ends too early.
For Trump, pressure rises along with the rising price of gasoline, and midterm elections are also hanging in the balance. In Israel, too, upcoming elections are looming, and Netanyahu needs to prove that he is a protector who did not buckle under US pressure. The political survival of both the president and the prime minister is at stake.
This squabble was merely a distraction. It was nothing.
The writer is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Watch his TV show Thinking Out Loud on JBS.