Trump: U.S. Keeps Netanyahu 'a Little Bit Sane' as Israel Trusts His Lead

President Trump offered a candid assessment of his working relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a new Axios interview, describing the partnership as strong while making clear he sees himself as a steadying influence. "It's good, but we have to keep him a little bit sane," Trump said, addressing the dynamic just hours after wrapping the G7 summit in France. The comment came amid ongoing disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem over the scope of Israel's military operations in Lebanon and the recently finalized U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, a deal Israeli officials have viewed warily.

Throughout the interview, Trump positioned the United States as the senior partner underwriting Israel's security, pointing to American firepower, including the B-2 bombers used in recent strikes on Iran, as the foundation of the alliance. "We're the ones with the guns," Trump said, crediting his own decisive action for protecting Israel through a volatile stretch in the region. He went further, declaring that without his involvement "Israel would've been eviscerated," and said Israeli leaders ultimately defer to Washington's judgment out of genuine respect for the role the U.S. has played in their defense.

The remarks come after a tense June phone call in which Trump reportedly pressed Netanyahu to scale back planned strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, part of a broader effort by the administration to prevent the Lebanon front from spiraling into a wider regional conflict. Netanyahu has downplayed any tension between the two leaders, telling CNBC that the allies can "disagree in the morning, and by the afternoon, we have common action." Trump's comments suggest he views that occasional friction not as a weakness in the alliance, but as evidence of the steady, hands-on leadership he believes has kept Israel both secure and strategically disciplined through one of the most consequential periods in the region's recent history.