The White House denied a report over the weekend that President Biden has privately insulted Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, calling him a "bad f---ing guy" according to a columnist.
"Like everyone in the administration and any Democrat with a pulse, he’s deeply suspicious of Benjamin Netanyahu, and privately has called the Israeli prime minister a "bad f---ing guy," Politico columnist Jonathan Martin wrote in a piece warning Biden of leftist anger at his policies.
Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates disputed the comments, telling Politico that "the president did not say that, nor would he," also stating that Biden and Netanyahu have "a decades-long relationship that is respectful in public and in private."
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Biden, Martin wrote, holds a "deep-seated fear" of Netanyahu taking advantage of American interest in the Israel-Hamas war "to drag the U.S. into a wider war in the Middle East, a conflict that would ensure American weapons keep flowing to the region, troops soon follow and, in the maelstrom, international pressure on him to agree to a Gaza cease-fire and his domestic political difficulties both dissipate."
Martin wrote that it is "hard to overstate how contemptuous even staunchly pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers have become of Netanyahu."
"It was unanimous that this Israel-Gaza war needed to end now and that Biden needed to stand up to Bibi," a House Democrat told Martin, recounting a dinner with other lawmakers.
"This is a disaster politically," the same Democratic member of Congress told Martin. "The base is really pissed — and it’s not just the leftists. I have never seen such a depth of anguish as I’ve seen over this Gaza issue. Bibi is toxic among many Democratic voters and Biden must distance himself from him — yesterday."
Biden has also taken criticism from ex-Obama officials over his re-election campaign and his public support for Netanyahu.
"You create political challenges for yourself when your public and private messaging aren’t aligned," former Obama official and podcast host Tommy Vietor said. "People don’t see Joe Biden chewing out Bibi on the phone."
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
