Donald Trump says Israel has lost its 'total control' over US Congress

US President Donald Trump has said that Israel has lost its "total control" of Congress, a change of affairs that he described as "amazing."

In an interview with the right-wing news outlet Daily Caller, Trump was asked about his views on declining Republican support for Israel.

He said that Israel had the strongest lobby in Congress that he had ever seen and he was surprised at how it had seen its power sapped.

"Israel had the strongest lobby in Congress of anything or body, or of any company or corporation or state that I’ve ever seen. Today, it doesn’t have that strong a lobby," said Trump.

"It’s amazing. They had total control over Congress, and now they don’t, you know, I’m a little surprised to see that." 

Trump's administration has been overtly supportive of Israel and has done little or nothing to stymie its ongoing genocide in Gaza.

'Israel had the strongest lobby in Congress of anything or body, or of any company or corporation or state that I’ve ever seen. Today, it doesn’t have that'

- US President Donald Trump

However, an increasing number of Republicans, including Trump supporters, have become critical of the US's unconditional support for Israel's assault on the enclave.

Far-right politicians like Marjorie Taylor-Green and commentators like Tucker Carlson have argued that failing to reel in US spending on Israel has undermined Trump's long-touted "America First" policy.

A new poll released by Quinnipiac University last week found a solid majority of Americans disapprove of the US sending military aid to Israel.

Pollsters at the university found that 60 percent of Americans are opposed to the US sending arms to Israel, while only 32 percent support additional aid.

This was the highest level of opposition and lowest level of support for US military aid to Israel since Quinnipiac first asked this question on 2 November 2023, following the Hamas-led 7 October attack on southern Israel.

An overwhelming majority of Democrats - 75 percent - oppose sending military aid to Israel. Likewise, 66 percent of Independents are against it.

Among Republicans, support is higher, with 56 percent in favour and 36 percent against. However, other polling has shown younger Republicans moving away from Israel.

Notably, Israel’s diminishing support within the US has coincided with increased backing for the Palestinians. Asked where their sympathies lie, 37 percent of US voters said the Palestinians, while 36 percent said the Israelis, and 27 percent said they had no opinion.