Less than 24 hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with the US President at the White House Tuesday, and Trump not-so-subtly put the Israeli leader in his place while fielding questions from reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump was asked about Netanyahu's very public and long-stated opposition to Washington selling F-35s to Turkey. Trump responded by firmly stating, "Nobody tells me what we should be selling or not. Turkey has been a tremendous ally."
He added in the remarks, "Turkey’s not a big fan of Israel, not a great fan of Bibi. But they’ve been great for me." He also repeatedly praised Turkey as a great ally of the United States.
It comes after Trump strongly hinted while at the annual NATO summit in Ankara earlier this month that he would approve the F-35 sale, though it would likely invite serious Congressional pushback.
This is not going to be a welcome development for Netanyahu, especially given that with the full context of the comments, Trump was highly praising Turkey while seeming to put down Israel:
"And frankly, we're being very nice to a lot of countries that would not survive without us. You know who wouldn't survive without us? Israel...
...Turkey has been a great ally, for me. Nobody tells me what we should be selling. Turkey is not a big fan of Israel, you know that, right? And not a big fan of Bibi."
Interestingly in the same thought he admitted Turkey is a bitter enemy of Israel, but still chose to praise Turkey while quipping that Israel wouldn't be able to stand on its own without support from Washington.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu opposes sending the F-35s to Turkey..."@POTUS: "Nobody tells me what we should be selling or not. Turkey has been a tremendous ally." pic.twitter.com/8gSzavJ6Ce
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 27, 2026Trump did say that the US and Israel align on Iran policy, mostly at least. "We have a little difference but [are] pretty close," Trump told reporters.
On the Iranians, Trump said: "They want to meet, and we’re meeting. There’s a chance we can make a deal. But without what we did, they wouldn’t even be talking to us." Of course, it's long been known that the Israelis are not in favor of talks, given the possibility it could end without the total dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program.
"Bibi is coming here, he'll tell ya..."
Trump:
We have been very nice to a lot of countries that wouldn't survive without us.
You know who wouldn't survive without us? Israel. pic.twitter.com/jN8SVNXjLV
Trump had earlier this month after a July 4th call with Netanyahu said of 'Bibi': "We get along very good. [Netanyahu] knows who the boss is," he told Axios. All the while, Turkey's Erdogan has been locked in a war of words and steadily ratcheting exchange of threats with Israeli officials. That Trump should so openly embrace Turkey and Erdogan has been felt as a slap in the face for Israeli leadership.
Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 23:00By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com
The Houthi threats to shipping in the Red Sea and its chokepoint, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, have forced at least one oil tanker carrying Saudi crude to Asia to choose the much longer route through the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean, and around Africa.
The supertanker Olympic Luck, partially laden with Saudi crude at Yanbu on the Red Sea, transited the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean late on Sunday, according to shipping data monitored by Bloomberg.
The U-turn from Bab el-Mandeb indicates that some tanker owners aren’t willing to risk crossing southward into the Arabian Sea on the much shorter route to Asia, as the Iran-aligned Houthis have threatened – and struck – Saudi tankers in the Red Sea in recent days.
The Greece-flagged Greece-owned Olympic Luck is signaling an unspecified location in Asia, according to shipping fixtures seen by Bloomberg.
Other tankers continue to transit the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but in numbers that are the lowest in months, various ship-tracking services showed this weekend.
Traffic through Bab el-Mandeb has materially slowed, and some vessel owners have their tankers move northward in the Red Sea toward the Suez Canal. The Suez-Africa route to Asia makes the journey about a month longer than if tankers travel through Bab el-Mandeb.
Last week, a Denmark-flagged oil and chemical products tanker, the Torm Innovation, turned away from Bab el-Mandeb and moved north toward the Suez Canal. The tanker, which had loaded products at Yanbu, was in the East Mediterranean early on Monday, shipping data on MarineTraffic showed.
Despite the reduced traffic through Bab el-Mandeb, “Saudi crude has not stopped moving. It has bifurcated,” maritime intelligence firm Windward said on Sunday.
“Yanbu port has transitioned to entirely AIS-dark tanker operations at berth as vessels shield against a Houthi hit list,” it added.
Saudi Arabia has established a working alternative export route via the SUMED pipeline in Egypt and around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, adding cost and voyage time but demonstrating the market’s adaptability, Windward noted.
Chinese-linked cargo continues transiting Bab al-Mandeb under the Houthis’ established carve-out, the firm said.
Tyler Durden Mon, 07/27/2026 - 22:35