Poll Swing Makes Confronting Trump a Potential Political Asset for Netanyahu

Political commentator Amit Segal wrote in Israel Hayom that a new poll shows a dramatic shift in Israeli public attitudes toward U.S. President Donald Trump. According to the survey, support for Trump among Israelis has dropped sharply over just one and a half months and is now at its lowest point.

Segal says the numbers could have direct political consequences for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He argues that the findings raise, for the first time, the possibility that Netanyahu may benefit politically from confronting Trump, a scenario that seemed unthinkable only weeks ago.

Until now, Netanyahu’s advantage had rested on his close ties to Trump, Segal writes. If that advantage has disappeared, Netanyahu could try to gain a new political edge by presenting himself as the only figure willing and able to stand up to the American president.

Segal ended his column with a possible campaign-style slogan for such a move, saying there is only one thing missing: a poster on the Ayalon highway with Trump’s picture and the words, “He will not decide.”