President-elect\u2019s post featuring economist Jeffrey Sachs comes weeks after Israeli PM claims two had a \u2018warm\u2019 chat<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump has shared inflammatory video content calling Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> a \u201cdeep, dark son of a bitch\u201d just weeks after the Israeli leader claimed the two had a \u201cvery friendly, warm\u201d discussion about hostage negotiations and Syria policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The president-elect posted the clip to Truth Social<\/a> featuring economist Jeffrey Sachs, who accuses Netanyahu of manipulating US foreign policy and orchestrating \u201cendless wars\u201d in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the video, Sachs \u2013 who is being interviewed by Tucker Carlson \u2013 claims Netanyahu has pursued a systematic strategy since 1995 to eliminate Hamas and Hezbollah by targeting their supporting governments in Iraq, Iran and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[Netanyahu\u2019s] gotten us into endless wars and because of the power of all of this in US politics, he\u2019s gotten his way,\u201d Sachs says in the interview, referring to the influence of pro-Israel lobbying groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s aim in promoting the video was not immediately clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The president-elect has a history of re-posting clips and images that criticize establishment policies in Washington, but the repost comes amid intensive diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the current US administration to broker a truce deal that would include hostage releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s decision to amplify Sachs\u2019s comments also comes as he assembles what Israeli settlers are dubbing a \u201cdream team\u201d of hardline supporters of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His pick for secretary of state, the Florida senator Marco Rubio, opposes a Gaza ceasefire and has called for Israel to \u201cdestroy every element\u201d of Hamas. His choice for UN ambassador, the New York representative Elise Stefanik, has dismissed the United Nations as a \u201ccesspool of antisemitism\u201d for its criticism of civilian deaths in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s selection for ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has rejected the common diplomatic terminology regarding occupied Palestinian territories. \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as a West Bank,\u201d Huckabee said during a 2017 visit to Israel. Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, had previously said<\/a> \u201cthere\u2019s no such thing as a Palestinian\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is also an evangelical Christian whose tattoos of crusader-associated symbols have raised eyebrows in diplomatic circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump himself has said there will be \u201chell to pay\u201d if Hamas does not release its hostages before he takes office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roughly 100 hostages remain in Gaza after 15 months of conflict, with two-thirds presumed alive. More than 45,000 Palestinians are believed to have been killed since the war broke out, with a majority of the 2.3 million in Gaza displaced and enduring brutal winter weather<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The relationship between Trump and Netanyahu has historically been one of mutual benefit, though it has been unpredictable and, at times, transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During Trump\u2019s first term, he delivered significant diplomatic wins for Netanyahu, including recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019 and supporting the Abraham accords with Gulf states. This past summer, Trump hosted Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago during the prime minister\u2019s US trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when Trump lost the 2020 elections, he blasted Netanyahu for congratulating Biden, telling an Axios reporter: \u201cI haven\u2019t spoken to [the Israeli leader] since. Fuck him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s return to office could, however, prove advantageous for Netanyahu\u2019s expansionist policies, particularly regarding settlement expansion and potential annexation in the West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Israeli government did not immediately respond to the repost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sachs told the Guardian that while he was not advising Trump, he hoped it signaled a shift in US foreign policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do not know Trump\u2019s disposition on these issues, but I do very much hope that he frees US foreign policy from the grip of the cruel, ineffective, illegal and destructive policies of Netanyahu,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n