Someone check to see if pigs have sprouted wings. Democratic strategist David Axelrod actually agreed with President Donald Trump on something.
That “something” is the president’s reported reaction during a tense phone discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Axios, Trump confronted him over the military escalation in Lebanon, which is reportedly endangering the United States’s discussions with Iran.
“What the f**k are you doing?” Trump was heard snapping at Netanyahu, according to one of the outlet’s sources.
“You’re f**king 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,” the president also reportedly said.
CNN’s Erin Burnett asked Axelrod to weigh in on the alleged exchange on Monday’s episode of OutFront, where the Democratic strategist surprisingly sided with Trump.
Watch:
(Video Credit: CNN)
“It doesn’t sound like a very friendly call. 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,” he responded. “And this war. I think what Trump‘s really mad about, if you believe the reporting in The New York Times on this, and I do, Maggie Haberman’s reporting, Jonathan Swan, Bibi had a lot to do with talking the president into thinking this was a good idea. 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.”
“Can he successfully turn, though, and suddenly be, ‘I‘m the guy-‘ I mean, I don‘t know who leaked this, but I would imagine Trump‘s fine with this being out there. If he talks like this and someone leaked it out there, he wants people to know. So, well, all of a sudden he‘s going to say, oh, this is how I feel about Bibi Netanyahu,” Burnett pointed out.
“Yeah, I imagine this happened because Israel is attacking Lebanon again now, and that‘s why Iran‘s upset and apparently not continuing with the talks,” fellow guest Gretchen Carlson chimed in. “So I can understand why he would have this sentiment. But it‘s a deeper sentiment about anger, because Trump can‘t get out of this war. And so to your concerns about the economy, which are totally accurate, what is he going to do to be able to win this war against Iran and therefore, lower costs for the American person?”
“Time is moving along. And so even if they resolve this, and now it looks like it‘s going to take a while longer, as you know, Erin, because you‘ve covered this stuff for years, it takes a long time for the effects to pass through and resolve themselves,” Axelrod added. “So it‘s not, it doesn‘t mean gas prices are going to go down. It doesn‘t mean grocery prices are going to go down. The president has created a huge problem for himself. And he did. And he overrode the concerns of some of his advisors who told him what Bibi Netanyahu is telling you is not true. It‘s not going to be easy to topple the regime, certainly not without boots on the ground. The Strait of Hormuz is a concern. He overrode those concerns. So it‘s very clear to me why he‘s angry at him. And he may be looking for someone to blame.”
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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