Israel previously had “total control” over the US Congress, and it was completely impossible for anyone who spoke “ill” of the Jewish state to build a political career. This is stated by US President Donald Trump in an interview with Daily Caller published this week.
— There was a time where you couldn’t speak bad, if you wanted to be a politician, you couldn’t speak badly, Trump explained.
He emphasized that Israel had long held a completely unique position in Washington, but claimed that this is changing.
— If you go back 15 years, probably that’s when it started, right. 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 continued to develop his reasoning:
— If you go back 20 years. I mean, I will tell you, 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. It’s amazing.
“Not winning the world of public relations”
According to Trump, American politics has fundamentally changed – today there are, as he puts it, “all kinds of Israel critics” and “lunatics” among the country’s top politicians.
He was referring among others to the so-called Squad, consisting of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib – a group of left-wing Democratic congresswomen who have made their mark with sharp criticism of Israel.
The president connected the changes in public debate to Israel’s bloody invasion of Gaza.
— They may be winning the war, but they’re not winning the world of public relations, you know, and it is hurting them.
At the same time, Trump highlighted his own role in the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, true to form. He declared that “no one has done more” for Israel than himself, and described the country as “amazing”, because he himself has received “good support” in return.
TRUMP: “ISRAEL HAD TOTAL CONTROL OVER CONGRESS, AND NOW THEY DON’T”
“Israel is amazing… Israel was the strongest lobby I’ve ever seen. They had total control over Congress, and now they don’t.
They may be winning the war, but they’re not winning the world of public… https://t.co/lLG7Hu1tem pic.twitter.com/4v1FqKQYul
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 1, 2025
One lobbyist for every politician
Although Trump claims that the Israel lobby doesn’t have the same power over American politics as before, there are many who don’t share that conclusion.
The Nordic Times has among other things highlighted how libertarian congressman Thomas Massie revealed that all Republican congressmen have a personal lobbyist from AIPAC with whom they maintain close contact and who tells them how to vote on various issues.
— Why would they want to tell their constituents that they’ve basically got a buddy system with somebody who’s representing a foreign country? It doesn’t benefit the congressman for people to know that. So they’re not going to tell you that, he states.
The Nordic Times has also reported on how AIPAC as recently as the last election boasted that almost all candidates they financed won their respective elections while managing to “stop” a number of Israel-critical candidates.