Overview
- Obama, in a New Yorker interview published Monday, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged him to take military action against Iran like he later urged President Donald Trump.
- Obama said Netanyahu may have gotten the outcome he wanted, then questioned whether it advances Israel’s security or U.S. interests.
- He said U.S. partners can no longer count on Washington to anchor the global system set up after World War II through groups like NATO and the World Bank.
- Obama warned that when the United States does not speak up on human rights, those issues drop off the world’s agenda.
- He rejected the claim that Trump’s tenure amounts to a rejection of his own policies, saying most Americans still support his approach.