President Biden slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in profane terms and called President Vladimir Putin the “epitome of evil” while bemoaning the lack of pushback on Russia during the Obama administration, according to a forthcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward.
Mr. Woodward’s book says Mr. Biden called Mr. Netanyahu a liar, a “son of a b——” and a “a bad f——— guy,” as frustrations with Mr. Netanyahu’s military campaign in Gaza mounted earlier this year, according to excerpts obtained by CNN ahead of the book’s Oct. 15 release.
Some of the tongue-lashing was man-to-man, with Mr. Biden reportedly saying, “Bibi, what the f—-?” after one strike on Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon in July.
“You know the perception of Israel around the world increasingly is that you’re a rogue state, a rogue actor,” Mr. Biden reportedly told the Israeli leader.
The choice words for the leader of Israel, a key ally, were among the juicy details trickling out from the Pulitzer Prize winner’s book, entitled “War.”
The book also dishes on former President Donald Trump, claiming the GOP nominee had up to seven phone calls with Mr. Putin since he left the White House in 2021 — a tidbit that sparked immediate pushback from Mr. Trump’s circle. Mr. Woodward also claimed that Mr. Trump secretly sent Abbott testing machines to Mr. Putin for his personal use during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020.
The book also details Mr. Biden’s feelings about Mr. Putin, who invaded Ukraine in early 2022. The U.S. president reportedly called him “that f——— Putin” and complained he was dealing with “with the epitome of evil.”
Mr. Biden also had choice words for his old boss, according to the book, when Mr. Biden was vice president for two terms under President Obama.
“Barack never took Putin seriously,” Mr. Biden reportedly said, referring to the failure to react strongly to Russia’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014.
The White House declined to confirm whether Mr. Biden’s comments in the book were accurate, particularly as they related to Mr. Netanyahu.
Senior deputy White House press secretary Emilie Simons told reporters the administration wasn’t going to comment on every anecdote that poured out of books or other reporting.
She defended Mr. Biden’s relationship with Israel.
“The commitment that we have with Israel is ironclad,” Ms. Simons told reporters en route to Wisconsin on Air Force One. “The relationship between Netanyahu and the president goes back decades. They can have very honest and straightforward conversations with each other.”
Palestinian Hamas militants staged a surprise terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in some 1,200 deaths and hundreds of hostages being taken. Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas in response, though thousands of civilians have died in the crossfire.
For months, Mr. Biden has sought a cease-fire to bring the hostages home and pause the Israeli assault on Gaza. But he’s been frustrated in his efforts, with both Hamas and the Netanyahu government balking at signing a final deal. Instead, the war is escalating with an exchange of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Ms. Simons pointed to a conversation between Mr. Biden and President Isaac Herzog, Israel’s nonpartisan head of state, on this week’s Oct. 7 one-year anniversary as a sign of a healthy relationship between the countries.
“The relationship between the United States and Israel is as strong as ever,” Ms. Simons said.
Mr. Woodward’s book also delves into Mr. Trump’s ongoing obsession with the 2020 election results and suggests the ex-president is growing more erratic.
The Trump campaign reacted angrily to the leaked excerpts.
“None of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said. “President Trump gave him absolutely no access for this trash book that either belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore or used as toilet tissue.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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