Image: keystone
analysis
Against the wishes of the US President, Israel is bombing Iran. Even parts of the evangelicals are turning away from him.
June 8, 2026, 4:23 p.mJune 8, 2026, 4:23 p.m
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump leaves no doubt about who is in charge. «I’ll tell you where to go. He [Benjamin Netanjahu] has nothing to decide.” The next day, Israel’s prime minister dropped bombs on Iran, even though the US president had explicitly asked him not to do so. Previously, Iran had once again attacked Israel with drones and missiles, but without causing much damage. The Ayatollahs, in turn, responded to the bombing of Lebanon by Israeli forces.
All of this shows that Trump is losing control of the Middle East. The US president would rather end the war against Iran yesterday rather than today, a war he launched on the advice of Netanyahu and against the advice of his own experts. In Jerusalem, however, right-wing extremist circles still believe in a final victory over their archenemy.
Keep bombing: Benjamin Netanyahu.Image: keystone
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted on X on Sunday: “Tehran must burn.” Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Netanyahu’s most likely opponent in the coming elections, said Israel “is facing a moment of truth” about whether it is capable of “self-defense as a sovereign state.”
Also on Therefore, Israel must act with strength and efficiency.”
The US’s actions in the Middle East, on the other hand, cannot be described as either strong or efficient. To prevent the price of gasoline from rising further, Trump wants a quick agreement with Iran, but the ceasefire is being broken daily and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. No one now believes the US President’s assurances that a peace treaty is about to be concluded.
The Gaza peace treaty is also no longer moving. Hamas refuses to give up its weapons, the Israelis continue to bomb, and Trump’s anti-UN, the so-called Board of Peace, is bankrupt because the promised billions have not arrived and will not arrive.
All of this shows that Israel pursues different goals than the USA and that Netanyahu & Co. regularly ignore Trump’s wishes.
Trump’s most important donor: Miriam Adelson.Image: keystone
Places close to Israel are also increasingly influencing American domestic politics. Thanks to massive support from the Jewish lobbying organization AIPAC and billionaire Miriam Adelson, the widow of a casino tycoon, Thomas Massie, an anti-Israel representative from the Grand Old Party, managed to defeat Thomas Massie in a primary in the state of Kentucky.
The same stunt will now be used against Graham Platner, a promising candidate for a Senate seat in Maine. Whether this makes sense in the long term remains to be seen. Netanyahu is about to turn Israel into a pariah state. In the USA, too, a majority of citizens now reject the politics of the former favorite child, and without the support of the Americans, things will be very difficult for Israel.
Israel’s behavior is also increasingly becoming a problem for Trump. Former allies such as Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly see him as a puppet of Netanyahu, who no longer puts the interests of his country but those of Israel in the foreground. A majority of Republicans also oppose the Iran war. This even reached the White House. “Everyone hates you,” Trump recently told Netanyahu in a heated telephone conversation.
In general, something like resistance is stirring within the ranks of the Grand Old Party for the first time. Justice Minister Todd Blanche, once a respected lawyer who has now lost all respect, had to cancel the announced $1.8 billion fund for the “victims” of the Capitol storm on January 6, 2021. Blanche was shouted down by Republican senators in a closed session, and he will have a hard time getting confirmed by the Senate.
Not qualified: Bill Pulte.Image: keystone
Even Republican members of Congress are equally outraged at the appointment of Bill Pulte as Director of National Intelligence, the head of all secret services. His predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard, was already considered completely incompetent. Compared to Pulte, however, in retrospect she seems to have been downright qualified. Gabbard resigned because she allegedly wanted to take care of her seriously ill husband. However, it is an open secret that she was close to being fired.
Pulte has never had a security job in his life. His only qualification is to carry out Trump’s wishes unconditionally. He abused his authority as Director of the Federal Housing Agency to accuse Trump’s political opponents of alleged mortgage fraud. However, he failed miserably.
How desks should be prevented
In his new role, Pulte would have access to all secret dossiers. Therefore, there are fears that he would use this knowledge against the president’s political enemies. To prevent this, efforts are underway in Congress to prevent desks. The House of Representatives and the Senate could demand that Trump drop desks. Otherwise, immigration loans will be denied or a law allowing surveillance of suspects will not be renewed.
Meanwhile, the US president’s imperial posturing is increasingly causing irritation among even his most loyal supporters. The “Financial Times” therefore asks the question: “Will evangelicals continue to support Donald Trump?” and quotes several pastors who no longer do so. For example, Reverend Bo Cave from Faith Chapel in Kansas City explains: “If you compare the first and second terms, he has become more distant. I see his behavior getting worse. He is becoming smarter politically, but not morally.” Cave voted for Trump three times.
So far, evangelicals have generously overlooked the fact that Trump’s lifestyle is in no way consistent with their values. They are grateful that his appointment of conservative judges ensured that the legalization of abortion was abolished at the national level.
The president prays with evangelicals.Image: www.imago-images.de
However, the inhumane behavior towards immigrants and the war against Iran are leading to a rethink even among parts of the evangelicals. A certain pastor, Doug Pagitt, explains: “Nothing has distanced us from the MAGA movement more than Trump’s behavior over the last three months.”
However, these words are unlikely to reach Trump. Always thin-skinned, he now simply runs away when he is asked critical questions, as he just did in an interview with the TV station NBC.