Trump surrogate calls Netanyahu 'bald-faced liar'
Former White House strategist for US President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "bald faced liar" and Israel a "protectorate" on his Tuesday episode of his War Room podcast.
Bannon remains a Trump loyalist with some influence over administration policy. He is a key figure within the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
He lashed out at Netanyahu for violating the ceasefire that Trump said he brokered between Israel and Iran.
"You have the gall - particularly after what [Trump] did for you and the grief he's taken over here - you have the gall. When he said, 'This is what I've done, and I need you to be a partner, I need you to stand down first'... you lied to him. That's why he's furious," Bannon said.
"Netanyahu goes on Israel TV and glazes. Don't glaze. Don't slobber all over [Trump]. It doesn't mean anything. You showed what you really thought of him last night," he added.
"For supporters of Israel - which is kind of on the ropes about this - [it] makes it very hard when your top guy's dealing from the bottom of the deck. It is not straight. And in fact.... a bald-faced liar."
Bannon also questioned the intelligence that was used to necessitate the US strikes on Iran and the way in which Israel dragged the US into a conflict it could not handle on its own.
"We have to get a full accounting of what's going on here, because the Netanyahu government is out of control. You saw this point blank: President Trump bent over backwards, moved heaven and earth to get this thing sorted. Called it 'the 12-day war,'" he said.
"When President Trump gets involved, when President Trump puts out these TruthSocials saying things are ended, you should take it like a papal bull."
"Why did you have to come for us to take out the entire bomb-making nuclear apparatus, including the above-ground that we had to hit with Tomahawk missiles? Why did you appear that you didn't do anything to sort that out?" Bannon said.
"Netanyahu basically bit off way more than he can chew, thinking that he could get us drawn into a major war. And it's not happening... you're not an ally, you're a protectorate and protectorates are not supposed to act like that."
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