US President Donald Trump was “pissed off” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public criticism of a proposed US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, the Axios news site reported Thursday.
Citing two White House officials, the news outlet said no meeting had been scheduled despite reports in Israeli media that Trump would host Netanyahu on Monday.
One official reportedly said that Trump was angered by Netanyahu’s remarks during a Fox News interview shortly before the US president traveled to Ankara for the July 7-8 NATO summit.
A second official said Trump believed Netanyahu had “no right” to intervene in the proposed weapons sale.
The Israeli premier has reportedly sought a meeting with Trump for more than two weeks. He has visited the Oval Office six times since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Reports in Israeli media had indicated that Netanyahu planned to travel to Washington this weekend to attend the funeral of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and meet Trump on Monday.
The trip was canceled Thursday after Graham’s funeral service was postponed, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Two White House officials reportedly said that Netanyahu wanted to see Trump but that no meeting had been confirmed or placed on the president’s schedule.
“Our impression was that Bibi was trying to will a meeting into existence,” Axios quoted an official saying.
Axios said White House officials did not rule out a meeting when Netanyahu eventually travels to Washington for Graham’s memorial service.
The delay comes amid growing tensions between the Trump administration and Netanyahu’s government over the war with Iran.
The report comes after US Vice President JD Vance suggested Wednesday that members of the Israeli government were seeking to undermine Washington’s diplomatic efforts with Tehran in an effort to prolong the military campaign.
