Bibi-Trump bromance: How the leaders of US & Israel capitalize on each other

8 Apr, 2019 08:14 / Updated 6 years ago

The incumbent heads of the US and Israel both face an election challenge soon and apparently believe that some intensive mutual back-scratching would be good. RT looks at their bromance.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been tight for quite some time. Even before Trump moved into the Oval Office, Bibi was there for him – telling US lawmakers how Obama’s Middle East policies were flawed and how scrapping the nuclear deal with Iran would be good for Israel. Trump, of course, scrapped the Iran deal, just as he promised on the campaign trail.

Netanyahu was showered with major gestures of US support for his right-wing policies. The Trump administration pulled out of the UN Human Rights Council over its alleged anti-Israeli bias, moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem, and recognized Israel’s annexation of Syria’s Golan Heights, among other things. The anger of the Palestinians and protests from other nations had no noticeable effect on these decisions.

Less than a week before a crucial general election in Israel, which will take place this Tuesday, Trump seemed to be campaigning for Netanyahu. On Friday, he bizarrely told American Jews in Las Vegas that Bibi was “their” prime minister. It’s safe to assume that if the Israeli PM stays in power despite all the corruption scandals surrounding him, Trump will keep a powerful and vocal ally in Israel.

This could come handy in 2020 when he seeks re-election as US president. The unprecedented level of Israeli support may be a strong argument to vote Trump for many Americans, including Jewish people and Christian Evangelicals.

RT’s Caleb Maupin takes a closer look at the Trump-Netanyahu political bromance and how it affects the two nations.

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