The latest
Trump has not called for Netanyahu to leave office. But he has started talking as if the post-Netanyahu era is a real possibility.
In an interview with ABC News, Trump said he did not know whether Netanyahu would lead Israel into its next election.
“He’s had an incredible career,” Trump said, before asking whether Netanyahu still wants to continue.
Trump described Netanyahu as a “wartime prime minister,” then said the war would end soon, “one way or another.”
He later told reporters that whether Netanyahu runs again is an “open question,” adding: “I wonder if Bibi even wants to continue.”
It was Trump’s most direct public doubt yet about Netanyahu’s political future. It also came as the two leaders increasingly clash over the limits of the war and Washington’s talks with Iran.
Details
• Trump did not say Washington wants Netanyahu gone. But he spoke as if Israel may soon have to think beyond him.
• The comments followed a sharp call between Trump and Netanyahu over Israeli military operations, especially in Lebanon.
• In an earlier interview, Trump said he had been “a little bit perturbed” by Netanyahu’s continued fighting with Lebanon.
• Washington wants a de-escalation that can support a deal with Tehran. Netanyahu needs a major military achievement he can sell to Israeli voters.
• At home, Netanyahu faces difficult polling and a stronger anti-Netanyahu “change bloc,” including Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot.
• Netanyahu is trying to preserve the image of a leader capable of delivering a strategic victory, not just managing a long war.
• Trump summed up the power balance in blunt terms: “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots.”
What to watch
If Washington keeps moving toward a deal with Tehran, Netanyahu’s pressure will grow at home and abroad.
If military escalation returns, Netanyahu may try to turn the war back into the source of his political legitimacy.
