Trump Signals Lack of Faith in “Loser” Netanyahu

They’ve been the hottest political couple on the international stage for the past several years. But is the bromance between US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coming to an end?

At a number of recent public appearances, Trump has jokingly expressed his frustration over the fact that, two national elections this year notwithstanding, Israel still doesn’t have a government.

“What kind of a system is it over there…? They are all fighting and fighting. We have different kinds of fights. At least we know who the boss is. They keep having elections and nobody is elected,” quipped the president during a rant to an Orthodox Jewish group in New York. 

Behind the scenes, Israeli officials with close contacts in the White House say that Trump is far less flattering toward Israel, and even his one-time buddy, Netanyahu.

One official told the Ynet news portal that the Americans are “frustrated and in despair due to Israeli politics and the political crisis, which has been preventing them for many months from presenting the diplomatic part of the ‘deal of the century.'”

He described the mood in Washington as one of “bewilderment and anger.”

Israelis already felt that something was up when Trump failed to wholeheartedly endorse Netanyahu in the second national election of this year. 

The same official told Ynet that after the Israeli leader’s inability to form a new government following the first election in April, Trump became “very disappointed with Netanyahu and is speaking negatively about him.”

The official reminded Israelis that Trump “doesn’t like losers.”