‘Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade Grills Netanyahu Over ‘Strained’ Relationship With Trump

Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the spot on Monday’s (July 6) show when he asked about his relationship with President Donald Trump amid the Iran war.

As the pair discussed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Kilmeade directly asked, “Mr. Prime Minister, is the relationship with the president under strain right now?” per Mediaite. “He’s been pretty direct in some of his criticism of you and of Israel. Some of the aggression against Hezbollah. And your thoughts about that?”

Netanyahu said that he and Trump “see eye-to-eye on just about everything” and that they are “the best of allies.” However, he admitted that there can be “differences of opinion.”

“We usually speak about it in open conversation,” he added. “You can imagine the president has his way of expressing things, and so do I, but we’re allies. We are your model ally. And we respect the United States of America.”

Netanyahu went on to say that Israel is “the one nation here in this region that is not only a democracy but a democracy in which the overwhelming majority of the people unabashedly support the United States of America.”

He reiterated that his relationship with Trump is “fine, stating, “We have a way of ironing out our differences as allies who respect each other.”

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Netanyahu’s comments come after Trump slammed the Israeli Prime Minister in recent months over his decision to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon, which took place hours before the U.S. and Iran were meant to sign a peace deal to end the war.

“Why did Bibi [a nickname of Netanyahu] have to do a f***ing attack? I was so pissed off. I let him know. He has no f***ing judgment. I let him know that,” Trump reportedly said, per Axios.

Trump also criticized Netanyahu during last month’s G7 summit, suggesting that Syria could do a better job taking on Hezbollah.

“I suggested to Israel, ‘Let Syria take care of Hezbollah.’ Because to be honest with you, I think they’ll do a better job of doing it,” he told reporters. “If Israel can’t do the job without killing everyone else, he’ll do the job. Syria will do the job.”