While comments by US President Donald Trump need always be taken with a grain of salt, what he told journalist Reagan Reese in an interview this week with the Daily Caller should sound the alarm for every Israeli concerned with the future of the state: Jerusalem is on its way to losing Congress.
The US-Israel relationship is strong and has ties across several fields of connection. But the risk of turning away future American politicians is very real. In Jerusalem, leadership would be wise to see this dangerous prediction now and set the course straight before it is too late.
In the interview, Reese referenced a March Pew poll, which found that 53% of surveyed adults in the US held an unfavorable view of Israel; in 2022, that number was 42%.
Reese added, quoting the poll, “Among young Republicans under 50, 50% have an unfavorable view of Israel. That’s up from 35% in 2022. There’s a growing group within the MAGA, America First coalition: Republicans, especially younger Republicans, who are skeptical of our support for Israel. Are you aware of this group? Are you worried about it?”
Trump said he was aware of the growing skepticism and that “nobody has done more for Israel than I have, including the recent attacks with Iran.”
However, he acknowledged the changes in support: “If you go back 20 years... Israel had the strongest lobby in Congress of anything or body, or of any company or corporation or state that I’ve ever seen. Israel was the strongest. Today, it doesn’t have that strong a lobby.”
He continued, “They had total control over Congress, and now they don’t... And people, they forgot about October 7… a truly horrible day.”
But, Trump added, “They’re going to have to get that war over with… it is hurting Israel. There’s no question about it. They may be winning the war, but they’re not winning the world of public relations… and it is hurting them… Israel was the strongest lobby 15 years ago that there has ever been, and now it’s been hurt, especially in Congress.
Israel must now do two things, and it must do them simultaneously: First, probe how and why this happened with our greatest ally. Second, figure out ways to mitigate the damages so that this relationship doesn’t lose its personal nature and deeply connected values in the future.
Trump and former US president Joe Biden went slightly against the tide in their camps and own partisan groups in their very strong, blatant support for Israel, particularly during the ongoing war against Hamas.
The next generation of American politicians and Israel
Israel has abandoned the earnest fight for the hearts of Americans in every way that matters, which can also be evidenced by the weakening ties with figures in the Democratic Party.
There is no guarantee that the next wave and generation of American politicians will carry the same strong, warm sentiments toward Israel as their predecessors. They might, but the way things are looking now, with America turning more inward, while so many others are brainwashed by Qatari-funded Hamas propaganda, the future might not be looking so bright.
Trump told Netanyahu succinctly that the war needs to end. So many within Israel have said it, but when it comes from Trump, it carries more weight and cannot be ignored, particularly as the street view of Israel grows colder and further away by the day as the war drags on.
This cause has to become a priority. Israel cannot afford to become a pariah state, as this paper has stated in the past, and the first line of defense is the popular opinion of the voters that make up our greatest ally. It is not too late.