Trump on Israel: ‘They’re not winning the world of public relations’
Trump’s comments come as support for Israel among Democratic lawmakers has significantly waned
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office Aug. 22, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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(JTA) — President Donald Trump said that backing for Israel in Congress had declined during the country’s military campaign in Gaza, telling The Daily Caller that Washington’s pro-Israel lobby no longer has the hold on Capitol Hill it once did.
“Israel had the strongest lobby in Congress of anything or body, or of any company or corporation or state that I’ve ever seen. Israel was the strongest. Today, it doesn’t have that strong a lobby,” Trump said. “It’s amazing.”
He attributed the decline to a public perception problem driven by the war in Gaza, emphasizing as he has before that he would like to see Israel bring the war to a close.
“They’re going to have to get that war over with. But it is hurting Israel. There’s no question about it,” Trump told Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese in an appearance on Monday. “They may be winning the war, but they’re not winning the world of public relations, you know, and it is hurting them.”
Trump’s comments come as a record number of Senate Democrats have supported legislation to block U.S. arms sales to Israel, and dozens of Democrats in the House have signed onto a similar bill. Support for Israel among Republicans remains high but is also on the decline, polls show.
Trump also said that there was a time in American politics when speaking badly of Israel was widely frowned upon, but he believes that times have changed as progressive voices have gained greater influence.
“There was a time where you couldn’t speak bad, if you wanted to be a politician, you couldn’t speak badly. But today, you have, you know, AOC plus three, and you have all these lunatics, and they’ve really, they’ve changed it,” he said, referring to Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Recent reports of a hunger crisis, the killings of journalists and plans to widen operations in Gaza have also drawn increasing criticism of Israel from lawmakers and the public alike. Among Democratic voters, support for Israel’s actions in Gaza has fallen to just 8% while approval among Republicans remains at 71%, according to a recent Gallup poll.
