Trump ‘surprised’ Israeli lobby is losing influence over Congress

US President Donald Trump said he is “surprised” to see that Israel’s once “strongest” lobby in Congress no longer holds the same sway as growing numbers of Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, voice criticism of the Israeli army’s deadly offensive in Gaza.

In an Oval Office interview Friday with the conservative US news site the Daily Caller which was published Monday, Trump said that two decades ago, Israel had “the strongest lobby in Congress of anything or body” but that its influence has since diminished.

“Israel was the strongest. Today, it doesn’t have that strong a lobby. It’s amazing,” he said.

“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 AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) plus three, and you have all these lunatics, and they’ve really, they’ve changed it,” he added, referring to progressive lawmakers who have been vocal critics of US military support for Israel.

“Israel was the strongest lobby I’ve ever seen. They had total control over Congress, and now they don’t, you know, I’m a little surprised to see that,” he said.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene became the first Republican to publicly call Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide” and joined with fellow Republican Thomas Massie and progressive Democrats such as Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib in a failed 422-6 House vote in July to strip $500 million in missile defense funding for Israel. In the Senate last month, more than half of Democrats backed measures to block US arms sales to Israel, marking the strongest congressional pushback in years.

Trump's remarks came in response to a question citing a March Pew poll showing that 53% of US adults now view Israel unfavorably, up from 42% in 2022. The interviewer noted a growing bloc within the MAGA-aligned “America First” Republicans skeptical of support for Israel.

A Quinnipiac University poll last week also showed that 60% of voters oppose sending additional US military aid to Israel — the highest opposition since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by the Palestinian group Hamas. Half of the respondents, including 77% of Democrats, said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Israel has killed more than 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.