A Cool Reception in Washington
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited President Donald Trump on July 29, the customary red carpet was absent. According to a report from Boulder Daily Camera, Netanyahu, in town for U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham’s memorial service, kept his head down, wary of further provoking an American president who has often shown displeasure with Israeli policy. Trump reportedly questioned Netanyahu about his election prospects and asked how he was faring in opinion polls.
A Changing Political Landscape
The encounter underscores a reality that is becoming undeniable for Israel: it is no longer immune from criticism. Congressional candidates who once would have been ostracized for suggesting even modest cuts in U.S. military aid are now winning primaries. Progressive Democrats have ousted establishment incumbents in deep-blue districts in New York City, Colorado, and Michigan. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed defeated an opponent backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), despite the challenger’s larger campaign war chest.
Even the Democratic establishment is shifting. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, long one of Israel’s most stalwart allies, lambasted Netanyahu on the Senate floor in March 2024 and urged Israelis to elect a new government. Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman, White House chief of staff, and Chicago mayor, used a July visit to Tel Aviv University to excoriate Netanyahu for turning Israel into an international outcast.
Public Opinion Turns
Politicians, Boulder Daily Camera reports, are following the electorate rather than leading it. Polls indicate a significant shift in American attitudes. An AP-NORC survey from July found that 58% of Democrats—including 51% of Jewish Democrats—believe the U.S. is too supportive of Israel, up 13 percentage points from January 2024. A Quinnipiac poll found that 48% of Americans say the U.S. gives Israel too much support, the highest figure since the question was first posed nearly a decade ago. Nearly half of Americans believe Netanyahu should be arrested on war crime charges if he entered the United States.
Partisan divides remain stark. Only 11% of Trump voters view the U.S. as too closely aligned with Israel’s current government, but among those under 35, the figure rises to 32%.
Trump’s Displeasure
The relationship between Trump and Netanyahu has been publicly tense. In June, when the Israeli air force bombarded Beirut, risking the collapse of peace talks with Iran, Trump called Netanyahu and screamed at him. In September, after Israel attempted to assassinate a top Hamas official in Qatar, Trump condemned the attack, scolded Netanyahu, and forced him to apologize to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Vice President JD Vance has accused some people in Israel of manipulating American public opinion to prolong the war, adding that those opposing negotiations need a workable alternative or should stop talking.
Despite these clashes, both leaders insist they remain good friends. Trump has declined to endorse any candidate in Israel’s October 27 election but said he might endorse someone in the future.
An October Election Looms
Netanyahu faces an election on October 27. Most polls show his Likud party neck-and-neck with or trailing the party led by Gadi Eisenkot, with his coalition falling to around 50 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Opposition leaders Eisenkot, Yair Lapid, and Naftali Bennett have expressed concern that Trump might ultimately back Netanyahu and have sent back-channel messages urging neutrality. Boulder Daily Camera suggests that even a Netanyahu defeat would not reset the U.S.-Israel relationship, which is becoming more normal—and less extraordinary—with each passing month.
The U.S. continues to provide Israel $3.8 billion annually in defense aid, but the political consensus that once shielded Israel from criticism is eroding. As the American electorate grows more skeptical, both Washington and Jerusalem are navigating a relationship that can no longer be taken for granted.