President Donald Trump’s close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fueling a civil war inside his administration, as senior officials increasingly weigh the costs of supporting his longtime ally amid the most unpopular war in American history.
A Trump administration official told Semafor Monday that frustration with Netanyahu extends beyond lower-ranking staff and reaches senior levels of the administration.
“At the mid-level and upper levels of the administration, there is not only real frustration, but real anger with Netanyahu’s government,” he said, continuing: “There’s a feeling that they oversold what they could do vis-a-vis Iran, and about how fragile the Iranian regime was. There’s a feeling that we had to bear a lot of the brunt for actually defending Israel.”
Trump has continued to support Netanyahu, even endorsing his embattled reelection campaign. He took it a step further, threatening to withdraw US military support if Bibi doesn’t win.
The next president will face a tough call when it comes to US military aid to Israel, as support for the nation has plummeted across party lines.
Vice President JD Vance also faces a political hurdle as he tries to maintain relationships with traditional pro-Israel Republicans while appealing to populist America First conservatives who are scrutinizing the relationship.
Vance has privately reassured influential supporters of Israel that he does not oppose the country, according to the report. At the same time, he has told the America First crowd that Washington’s relationship with Israel should benefit Americans at home.
Notably, Vance has not endorsed Netanyahu, a sign of his political quandary.
Tucker Carlson, a longtime Vance ally and conservative influencer, has become one of the most outspoken critics of Israel and has publicly split with Trump over the war.
Carlson is among the America First faction that symbolizes the growing civil war over Israel support.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas are regarded as more reliable supporters of Israel by some Republicans, making Vance stuck in the middle.
A May Pew Research Center survey found that young voters are in opposition to the older generation, as only 28% of Republicans aged 18 to 34 viewed the Israeli government favorably, compared with 68% of Republicans aged 50 and older.
This could be down to growing social media awareness of alleged war crimes committed by Israel in its many war fronts in the Middle East.
Netanyahu has himself acknowledged that Israel may not be able to count on US aid in the future, stating in an interview: “Tens of billions of US aid dollars to the defense budget — get used to it — won’t keep coming. Because America has changed. Not because Israel has.”
The growing rift on support for Israel could become a policy referendum in future elections, with a pro-Israel candidate on one side going up against an America-first candidate in the first post-Trump battle in over a decade.
