The Duran Podcast - Divide between Trump and Netanyahu?

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

Divide between Trump and Netanyahu?The Duran: Episode 2225

All right, Alexander, let's talk about what is happening between the Trump administration and Netanyahu. It seems as if we're getting reports on a daily basis now from mainstream media in the United States as well as Israel, that there's been some sort of a falling out between Trump and Netanyahu. What do you make of these reports? A lot of them are false. I mean, for example, the report, I believe it's false that Trump's going to recognize a Palestinian state when he goes to Saudi Arabia. I think obviously that's not going to happen. But it's interesting, and this was actually coming from the Jerusalem Post, this report.

So it's interesting that we're getting these reports. It seems as if there are forces at work which are saying that whether these reports are true or not, they're saying that there has been some sort of a divide between Trump and Netta and Yahoo. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think there is some sort of a divide? Do you think a lot of this may have started with Mike Walts and everything that happens with Waltz? Or maybe it goes back earlier to 2020 when Netanyahu kind of put his support behind Biden in a way. And I think Trump never got over that.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on everything going on? I think these reports are true, but I think they're also being greatly overstated as well. I think that over the course of Trump's first term and before, Trump was an absolute strong supporter of Israel. I think he saw Netanyahu as his dear friend. All the indications were that they were very, very friendly with each other. I think that the relationship began to get seriously unstuck in the autumn of 2020 because exactly, as you said, to Trump's shock and anger, Netanyahu backed Biden over the events that we've discussed many times in which everybody knows.

And I don't think Trump has ever forgotten that. And I think you saw that as a personal betrayal from somebody that, that he thought of as a friend. And I don't think he's ever fully forgiven Netanyahu for it. And I think we've seen that play out over the last couple of months since before Trump's inauguration. But I think we can overstate the importance of that too. I think Trump remains very, very committed to Israel. I don't think he's changed on this issue at all.

But there are substantive disagreements. And I think they center on this unrelenting Israeli campaign to draw the United States into conflict with Iran. And I don't think that Trump wants to go there. I think he absolutely does not want an all-out war with Iran. I think, well, we know in fact, because Axios and other publications told us that the Israelis came to speak to him before he was inaugurated as they also came, spoke to Biden at that time, to try to get the Americans to

agree to missile strikes on Iran. And Trump said no at that time. And they've come and they've lobbied for that since. And they also clearly lobbied for the attack on the Houthis. And that was supposed to lead to the attack on Iran also. And Trump wasn't happy with that. And I think also Trump was very angry after he's discovered that Mike Walsh, his own national security advisor, was working with Netanyahu and with the Israelis in order to win him over to an attack on Iran and to get the policy of the United States. and to get the policy of the United States shifted onto an Israeli direction.

As far as Trump is concerned, and he's absolutely right here, the purpose of the national security advice is to advise the president and to be loyal to the president not to act as the lobbyist of another government. So I think that this is the real reason that there is this straight. I don't think that Trump is going to go to Saudi Arabia and is going to announce there a recognition of a Palestinian state. I get no sense that that or anything like that is about to happen. But I think he is very angry with the way in which he feels.

Netanyahu is trying to obstruct and change the direction of the negotiations with Iran. And I think he's also very, very angry with the way in which some people within Trump's own administration have been siding with Netanyahu against him. So I think this is probably the cause of the stress. And it probably also explains, by the way, why Trump has chosen as his first trip abroad since president, becoming president. And notice his first trip is to the Middle East, not to Europe, but he's chosen to go to the Middle East as his first trip as president, and he's chosen to go to Saudi Arabia rather than

Israel. And I think that in itself is a sign of a certain degree of displeasure and resentment of Netanyahu. You get mixed messages about Gaza and what Trump has decided with regards to Gaza, the blockade and Israeli operations possible. operations in the future expanded. Expanded operations is what they described them as in the future in Gaza. There are reports which say that Trump has given Netanyahu a blank check, a green light, blank check to do whatever he wants. Then you have other reports and even statements from Trump where he signals that he's actually trying to stop the expanded operations. And he's trying to to resolve this blockade and the hostage situation.

Of course, you have Whitkoff, who is working on that as well and has had some moves in the right direction. Whitkoff has with the release of hostages. What do you think the truth is with Trump and Gaza? I mean, where do you think he's leaning towards? Right. I think the first thing to say about this is that the most of the most of the moment. man who gave Israel a blank check was not Donald Trump. It was Joe Biden. It was Biden. This is a fact

which people don't want to acknowledge, or far too many people don't want to acknowledge. We've covered it in many programs. But Joe Biden went to Israel back in October 23, shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel on the 7th of October and publicly gave Netanyahu a black check. and he never ever called it back in, never in all of the time that he was president. So what we saw was a pattern of continuous Israeli escalation throughout 2024. And Biden, we're always getting these reports in the media about how annoyed Biden was with Israel and all of that and how they'd been raised voices between him and Netanyahu. but as he always did, very weakly, he ended up supporting Netanyahu in everything he did,

either because that was Biden's conviction or because that was what Biden was told to do or because he was too scared of Netanyahu to call him in. Now, Trump has never done that. He has never come out publicly and said that Netanyahu can do whatever he likes in Gaza and can run this thing, whatever way he pleases, and the United States will fully back and support him. So he's had the sense, if I could say it, not to do that, not to over-commit the United States in that sort of way.

But again, realistically, what is he doing to stop Netanyahu? in Gaza. I haven't actually seen very much. Wittgoff did get a ceasefire up and running in the weeks after Trump's inauguration, around the time of Trump's inauguration. But that ceasefire didn't last very long. Whitkoff has also been able to get Hamas to agree to release some hostages, American hostages, amongst others. And again, that's certainly a gesture by Hamas. to Trump and to the United States. I still get the sense that Trump loathes Hamas. I don't think he has any real time for them at all.

So yes, I think that probably Trump does have, has kept for himself a greater ability to put pressure on Netanyahu. to control what Netanyahu is doing in Gaza. But I don't get the sense that Trump is going to burn up any political capital in the United States to do it, because I don't think he cares about this conflict in that kind of way. I think he doesn't want to see violence. I think when he says he doesn't want to see people being killed,

he's telling the truth. But I don't think politically he wants to get into a conflict with Netanyahu over something like that. That is my own sense. Right. What are we to expect in his trip to the Gulf, to Saudi Arabia? Well, business deals. Oh, absolutely.

There are reports which do claim, and this is big news if these reports are correct, and they just might be. I'm thinking these are accurate reports, which claim that because things are not going so well between Trump and Netanyahu, that he's so frustrated and angry with Netanyahu that he's going to delink. Saudi Arabia and Israel, which is something that would be a big step. In other words, he's going to provide nuclear technology energy, nuclear energy technology to Saudi Arabia, something that they've been wanting. And they're not going to have the requirement of having to normalize

relations with Israel to recognize Israel, which is what the linkage was in the past. And there are reports saying that Trump is going to do this. He's going to delink Saudi Arabia recognition of Israel with the nuclear energy that the U.S. can provide Saudi Arabia. That's exactly what he's going to do. I absolutely think there's going to be massive business deals. I think that Trump and MBS get on pretty well. I think MBS is very, very happy to see the back of Joe Biden, who he couldn't stand. And I think that we're going to see a blossom again of the relationship between Trump and MBS and between the US and Saudi Arabia. I do think it's going to fundamentally change Saudi foreign policy, but I think that what Trump wants to do is to develop American relationships,

business relationships and security relationships with the Saudis and with the other Gulf states. And again, I think he wants Netanyahu to get out of the way. And I think that is exactly what is going to happen. So I think this is going to be a successful visit in those terms. Trump, by the way, has a soft spot for the Saudis, or at least for beliefs in this relationship with the Saudis. You remember one of his very first visits as president in his first term was to Saudi Arabia as well. and he met MBS there and there was a huge reception for him and all kinds of deals were done and all sorts of things of that kind took place.

And a lot of it, a lot of the deals that were made, by the way, never fully materialized. I think it would be a rather more sober event this time. MBS is more experienced, a lot more experienced that he was at that time and more secure. And Trump, of course, himself is more experienced. So I think this will be a more pragmatic and, you know, realistic and well-organized trip than the very, very showy and glitzy earlier trip was. But I think that definitely the US and Saudi Arabia are going to move forward with their relationship. And I suspect that there will be a deal done on nuclear technology and probably another Rams deal and all kinds of things of that kind. How big of a deal is that?

It's a big deal. What does that mean for Iran? Does that mean anything for Iran? Is there any connection to Iran with this deal? No, I don't think so. I think that the Saudis have been going to great lengths to reassure the Iranians, that they're not going to side with Israel and the United States against them. The Saudi defense minister was actually in Iran about two weeks ago, basically to give those sort of assurances.

I think that the state. Saudis have come to a decision that maintaining a peaceful relationship with Iran is in their interests. And I think that the Iranians have done the same with the Saudis, that, you know, that this feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran was working against the interests of both. So I think they've put that behind them. But nonetheless, an arms deal making Saudi Arabia stronger militarily at a time when the Iranians have done their own arms deal with the Russians. It makes sense because these are the two most powerful countries in the Gulf region and arguably in the non-Israeli Middle East and they will want to maintain a balance with each other

and they will also want to ensure that they have relationships with their respective superpower patrons, even though the Saudis also have a good relationship with the Russians as well. All right, we will end the video there, the durand.orgas.com. We are on Rumble Odyssey, British, Telegram, Rockfinan. Next, go to the Duran shop, pick up some merch like what we are wearing in this video update. The link is in the description box down below. Take care.