The White House on Wednesday went into damage control over a senior administration official’s description of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “chickenshit,” saying the remarks were “counterproductive.”
“Comments like that do not reflect the administration’s views,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest, calling the U.S.-Israeli relationship “as strong as ever.”
However, the Obama-Netanyahu relationship has always been frosty, and the latest insult further strains ongoing talks between the two leaders about how to address widespread unrest in the Middle East.
In a story published by the Atlantic Tuesday, senior administration officials framed Netanyahu as a cowardly politician solely motivated by self-interest.
“The good thing about Netanyahu is that he’s scared to launch wars,” one official said, explaining his insult.
“The bad thing about him is that he won’t do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab states,” the official added.
Earnest on Wednesday said he was unaware of which senior official made the comment and added that he did not “know of any effort” underway at the White House to determine the source of the remarks.
As the White House tried to brush off the widely circulated insult, Republicans used the episode to rake Obama over the coals for comments they see as indicative of his attitude towards Israel.
“I am tired of the administration’s apology tour,” said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. “The president sets the tone for his administration. He either condones the profanity and disrespect used by the most senior members of his administration, or he does not. It is time for him to get his house in order and tell the people that can’t muster professionalism that it is time to move on.”
“Unfortunately, these are not isolated insults; they are part of a pattern of disrespectful and profoundly counterproductive behavior that has strained the critical alliance between the United States and Israel,” added House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
Earnest called it “rich” for Boehner to lecture the White House on profanity, given his “penchant for using pretty salty language himself.”
For his part, Netanyahu was none too pleased.
“Our paramount interests, first and foremost security and the unity of Jerusalem, are not of vital importance to those same anonymous sources who attack us and me, personally,” he said at a memorial ceremony Wednesday. “I am being attacked personally only because I am defending the state of Israel.”
