Within the GOP a quiet rebellion against Israel Donald Trump's close alliance with Benjamin Netanyahu is opening a fault line within the Republican Party - one that will outlast his presidency. The question is what does "America first" actually mean for the relationship between the US and Israel. Trump aligned closely with Netanyahu and endorsed his re-election, but this position is not comfortable with a calm populist right - and even with officials in his own administration. One administration official describes "real frustration" and "real anger" with the Netanyahu government, including a sense that Israel has "oversold" what it can do against Iran while the US bears the burden of defending it. The gap is generational as well as ideological: Pio found that only 28% of Republicans aged 18-34 view the Israeli government positively, compared to 68% of those aged 50 and over. This makes the republic's next presidential bid a minefield to fight. Vice President J. Dee Vance - his 2028 position - tries to thread the needle, assuring pro-Israel Republicans that he has no animosity toward Israel while arguing that the relationship should be more explicitly guided by US interests ("normal relations with a normal country," as he put it to Joe Rogan). But his friendship with Tucker Carlson, one of the fiercest critics of Israel's rights, fuels suspicion among pro-Israel donors, who see an opening for figures like Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio. Netanyahu himself seems to sense the change, warning in a recent interview that "tens of billions of dollars in American aid will not continue to arrive. Because America has changed. Not because Israel has "With the Israeli elections approaching and Netanyahu's hold on power uncertain, the GOP's internal reckoning with Israel is reaching its worst moment - and will define the party's post-Trump future. Don't miss it.

Within the GOP a quiet rebellion against Israel Donald Trump's close alliance with Benjamin Netanyahu is opening a fault line within the Republican Party - one that will outlast his presidency. The question is what does "America first" actually mean for the relationship between the US and Israel. Trump aligned closely with Netanyahu and endorsed his re-election, but this position is not comfortable with a calm populist right - and even with officials in his own administration. One administration official describes "real frustration" and "real anger" with the Netanyahu government, including a sense that Israel has "oversold" what it can do against Iran while the US bears the burden of defending it. The gap is generational as well as ideological: Pio found that only 28% of Republicans aged 18-34 view the Israeli government positively, compared to 68% of those aged 50 and over. This makes the republic's next presidential bid a minefield to fight. Vice President J. Dee Vance - his 2028 position - tries to thread the needle, assuring pro-Israel Republicans that he has no animosity toward Israel while arguing that the relationship should be more explicitly guided by US interests ("normal relations with a normal country," as he put it to Joe Rogan). But his friendship with Tucker Carlson, one of the fiercest critics of Israel's rights, fuels suspicion among pro-Israel donors, who see an opening for figures like Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio. Netanyahu himself seems to sense the change, warning in a recent interview that "tens of billions of dollars in American aid will not continue to arrive. Because America has changed. Not because Israel has "With the Israeli elections approaching and Netanyahu's hold on power uncertain, the GOP's internal reckoning with Israel is reaching its worst moment - and will define the party's post-Trump future. Don't miss it.