Netanyahu says Biden 'very clear and focused'

“I have had more than a dozen extended phone conversations with President Biden,” Netanyahu said, as he noted that Biden “also came on a visit to Israel during wartime, which is a historic first."

 Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden (photo credit: REUTERS)
Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden
(photo credit: REUTERS)

US President Joe Biden is “very clear and focused,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC’s This Week on Sunday as he pushed back at allegations that the American leader suffered from cognitive decline.

Netanyahu has been in constant communication with Biden since the Hamas-led October 7 attack against Israel sparked a Gaza war.

The US president also visited Israel in the first two weeks of the war.

“I have had more than a dozen extended phone conversations with President Biden,” Netanyahu said, as he noted that Biden “also came on a visit to Israel during wartime, which is a historic first.

Netanyahu on Biden: Sometimes we had disagreements

“I found him very clear and very focused. We managed to agree on the war aims and many things. Sometimes we had disagreements, but they were not born of a lack of understanding on his part or my part,” Netanyahu said.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on February 11, 2024 (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on February 11, 2024 (credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)

The prime minister and the US President have known each other for over forty years and are considered to be friends despite the tension between them. 

Special Counsel Robert Hur, a former US attorney who was investigating charges that Biden had mishandled classified documents, said that the president would be difficult to convict.

He described him as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory" who was not able to recall to investigators when his son, Beau Biden, died.

Reuters contributed to this report.