Trump Says Israel Lobby Has Lost Its Grip on Congress, Urges Jerusalem to End Gaza War Quickly

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – President Donald Trump warned that Israel is losing its once-dominant influence in Washington and urged Jerusalem to wrap up its military campaign in Gaza before sustaining further damage in global public opinion.

In a wide-ranging Oval Office interview with the Daily Caller, Trump said that while he has long been a strong supporter of Israel, the country’s political standing in the U.S. has weakened dramatically compared to two decades ago.

“Nobody has done more for Israel than I have, including the recent attacks with Iran, wiping that thing out,” Trump declared. “But if you go back 20 years… Israel had the strongest lobby in Congress of anything I’ve ever seen. Today, it doesn’t have that strong a lobby.”

The former president pointed to shifting attitudes among Republicans—especially younger conservatives—as evidence of the trend. A March Pew Research Center poll found that 53% of U.S. adults view Israel unfavorably, up from 42% in 2022. Among Republicans under 50, half now report an unfavorable view of Israel, up from just 35% two years ago.

Trump blamed progressive Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her allies for “changing the climate” in Congress, noting that “15 years ago, you couldn’t speak badly about Israel if you wanted to be a politician.” He added: “They had total control over Congress, and now they don’t.”

The president also warned that the Gaza conflict is inflicting lasting reputational damage. “They may be winning the war, but they’re not winning the world of public relations,” Trump said. “They’re gonna have to get that war over with. It is hurting Israel.”

Trump’s comments come as cracks appear within his own political orbit. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene recently accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza—becoming the first GOP lawmaker to use that term—while longtime Trump allies Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson have openly questioned Israel’s reliability as a U.S. partner.

Despite those shifts, Trump reaffirmed his call for Israel to pursue total victory over Hamas. He has reportedly told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “Forget the partial deals. Go in with full force. Finish it.”

The president also returned to the memory of the October 7 Hamas assault, which he called “a truly horrible day.” He warned against rising voices that deny the massacre or even the Holocaust. “You have people that deny it ever happened,” he said.

For now, Trump appears to be threading a delicate line: pressing Israel to bring the war to a decisive conclusion while acknowledging that the once-ironclad consensus around support for the Jewish state in Washington is beginning to fray.

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