Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier,” in an interview, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said “of course there is” antipathy in the Obama administration toward Netanyahu.
Partial transcript as follows:
BAIER: Are you surprised by the pushback about your invite of the Israeli prime minister to speak to Congress?
BOEHNER: No, not really. I believe that the prime minister of Israel has a strong voice. He believes that the threat of the Iranians having a nuclear weapon is a very serious threat. Israeli prime minister can also talk with some expertise about the growing threat of radical Islam. We’ve got a serious problem in the world and the president just wants to act like it’s going to just disappear. So, as a co-equal branch of our government, I don’t have any problem at all in doing what I did to invite the prime minister to come to Congress and address those concerns.”
BAIER: “Do you think there is some kind of antipathy in this administration toward Netanyahu?
BOEHNER: Of course there is. They don’t even try to hide it.
BAIER: It’s been reported that Jeremy Bird, who served as national field director for President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, is working in Israel — part of an effort to defeat Prime Minister Netanyahu and his re-election. Do you buy that? What do you make of it?
BOEHNER: I’ve not heard this but — and I don’t want to say I’m surprised or not, but I would hope that that would not be the case. Israel has been our strongest ally in the region for decades. We have a great relationship with them and we have looked for ways to work together on behalf of our shared interest, not to have the kind of antipathy that we’ve seen over the last several years.
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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