http://thehill.com/policy/international/236092-paul-ryan-obama-helped-netanyahu-winBy Jesse Byrnes - 03/18/15 11:28 AM EDT
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) suggested Wednesday that President Obama helped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secure a big reelection win.
"I actually think the Obama administration helped contribute to his victory because of the way they treated him," Ryan said on "Fox & Friends."
"It helped him consolidate his coalition so that he could have this landslide victory, and I'm pleased to see it happen," Ryan added.
Netanyahu claimed victory early Wednesday after his Likud party surged past main rival Zionist Union and captured 30 of 120 seats in the parliament, according to multiple reports.
Netanyahu said he would call potential partners to immediately to form a coalition government.
White House political strategist David Simas congratulated "the Israeli people" in an interview early Wednesday on CNN's "New Day."
"As you know, now the hard work of coalition building begins. Sometimes that takes a couple of weeks, and we're going to give space to the formation of that coalition government, and we're not going to weigh in one way or another, except to say that the United States and Israel have an historic and close relationship, and that will continue going forward," Simas said.
The White House has so far not congratulated Netanyahu.
Friction between the White House and Netanyahu has apparently escalated in recent months as the Obama administration pushes to secure a deal on Iran's nuclear program, which faces a preliminary self-imposed deadline March 31. Both sides have publicly taken digs at each other over the issue.
Netanyahu, who trailed in polls leading into Tuesday's voting, sought to shore up support among conservative voters by announcing on the eve of the election that he would not allow a Palestinian state to be set up under his watch in office.
"Tightness of exits in Israel suggests Bibi's shameful eleventh hour demagoguery may have swayed enough votes to save him. But at what cost?" David Axelrod, Obama's former senior adviser, said in a tweet.
Asked about Axelrod's remark, Ryan told Fox, "It's unfortunate. We shouldn't meddle in such things."
"But having said all that, I'm very pleased to see him reelected," Ryan said, referring to Netanyahu.
