US Vice-President JD Vance has publicly criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he has “certainly gotten some things wrong” in an interview with CBS News, the BBC’s US partner. The comments mark a rare admission of strain between the two allies, which have come under pressure in recent weeks over military action in Lebanon. Vance declined to give examples, saying “those conversations sometimes are better left in private”, but he went on to say that Netanyahu “aggressively asserts the interests of his country” and that those interests are not always aligned with America’s. “Where that diverges, we – unfortunately for the Israelis – have to choose the side of the American people,” Vance said.
The vice-president’s remarks follow a reported clash between Donald Trump and Netanyahu over Israeli operations in Lebanon, which brought renewed strikes and threatened peace talks with Tehran. Last week, Trump told an Axios journalist he had called Netanyahu “effing crazy” in a phone conversation, saying he was “a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon”. The US and Iran exchanged strikes for a second consecutive day overnight, straining a ceasefire that had held since April.
“Vance says Netanyahu 'got things wrong' as US-Israel tensions rise over Lebanon; Epstein Files clash emerges.”
The public rebuke is the latest sign that the Trump administration is losing patience with its long-time partner. But the vice-president’s own position in the White House has also come under scrutiny. According to an extensive New York Times report cited by The i newspaper, on 13 August 2025, the White House Situation Room hosted a discussion during which Vance argued for the release of unproven claims about Trump from the Epstein Files. Vance insisted that the White House release documents including a woman’s claim that “Trump had a predilection for nipples and that he had aggressively flicked and sucked hers”, saying Trump himself would not care. He was quickly overruled by White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who insisted the president would care.
The White House later published the Epstein Files only after being forced to do so by Congress, and rows over redactions continue. A White House spokeswoman said Trump was innocent in all Epstein-related matters and that he had “done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before”. Vance, meanwhile, continues to navigate a delicate balance between asserting US interests abroad and managing internal fractures over transparency.