Trump And Netanyahu’s Once Blossoming Bromance Sours At A Pivotal Moment For Both Men
For years, Israelis driving the country’s highways in the final weeks of an election have seen the same image: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing beside President Donald Trump, under the slogan, “A different league.”
Less than two weeks before the October 27 vote, the billboards of Netanyahu are back.
This time, Trump is not on them.
The president still appears in some videos for Netanyahu’s Likud party, but his absence may signal something beyond advertising.
Trump has so far declined to endorse Netanyahu and has sidestepped questions on whether he should be reelected.
“I’m not involved in [Israeli] politics anymore,” he told Time earlier this month. On Thursday, Trump told Newsmax Netanyahu would like him to be involved in the election. “I’ve had a very good relationship with him,” he said, but avoided endorsing him again. When asked directly whether he trusts Netanyahu, he said bluntly, “I don’t trust anybody in the world of politics.”
For a campaign that has traditionally treated Netanyahu’s intimacy with the White House as a major electoral asset, the restraint is notable.
Trump has starred in Netanyahu’s campaigns since 2013, when still a businessman and TV personality, he released a video urging Israelis to “vote for Benjamin.”
When Trump entered the White House in 2017, he showered Netanyahu with political gifts.
About two weeks before Israel’s April 2019 election, Netanyahu was in Washington to watch Trump sign a historic proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights. In January 2020, five weeks before Israelis went again to the polls, Trump unveiled the Israeli-Palestinian “Deal of the Century” plan. Netanyahu stood smiling by his side.
Ahead of this election, there has been no red carpet. The last time Netanyahu and Trump met at the White House in August, there were no cameras. The two did not meet at all when Netanyahu traveled to New York for the UN General Assembly in September.
Over the course of the last year, Netanyahu has taken steps that have drawn fury from Trump, including undermining Trump-led peace efforts by striking inside Lebanon and Gaza.
Trump has cursed the prime minister out in phone calls and warned him he’s losing support among Americans, according to people familiar with the conversations. He’s asked why Israel was blowing up apartment buildings in Lebanon and warned about the risk of a global economic downturn as a result of the Iran war.
Inside the White House, many of the moves were interpreted as election-year posturing by Netanyahu, whose internal politics are well known by Trump and his advisers. Over the summer, many Trump advisers came to the conclusion that Netanyahu was trying to prolong the Iran war to bolster his own political standing.
Trump has given Netanyahu a degree of leeway because of those political concerns, people familiar with the matter said. But he’s still grown frustrated at some of Israel’s actions, many of which he believes run counter to American interests.
Another person close to Trump suggested his lack of endorsement is tied to Netanyahu’s weakness in the polls. Trump has long been careful to avoid endorsing candidates who seem likely to lose.
In conversations over the past several months, Trump has quizzed Netanyahu about the election and his prospects, according to people familiar with the matter. While Netanyahu has sought to project confidence, Trump is well aware of the prime minister’s difficult political position.
As Netanyahu’s standing fell in the Trump administration, so did Trump’s standing in Israel.
According to Israeli sources close to Netanyahu, Trump was originally meant to be a centerpiece of Netanyahu’s campaign. Last December, at Mar-a-Lago, the prime minister announced that Trump would become the first non-Israeli to receive the prestigious Israel Prize. Netanyahu aides hoped Trump would accept the prize in person at Israel’s Independence Day ceremony in April, giving jumpstarting the campaign.
Then came the war with Iran.
The joint US-Israeli attack began on February 28 with the two leaders projecting strategic harmony. Netanyahu thanked “my friend, President Donald Trump,” calling him “a leader who stands by his word.” Trump described the two of them as “war heroes” and publicly demanded that Israel’s president grant Netanyahu a pardon in his ongoing corruption trials.
