The White House is much too late in belateldy ‘discovering’ this talking point, but admin officials continue to say that it’s time for Israel to stand on its own and begin purchasing weapons without relying on US financial assistance.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday stated, “Israel is now prosperous and rich enough to be able to be a sales country. They can buy weapons from us, but we no longer have to provide the financing.“
Coming off Republicans getting clobbered in the midterms, and with Israel being increasinly unpopular among the American electorate, Rubio followed by adding that “it’s something the Israelis themselves have offered us.”
When asked whether this could be something to take effect in 2027, Israel replied, “Well, that’s what the president said we’re going to do. So, ultimately, I think they could if they wanted to, yeah, absolutely.”
“On the question of financing, I think Israel has clearly graduated beyond that,” he said, alluding to Israel being a wealthy enough nation.
Just before last week’s midterm elections, President Trump had abruptly proposed ending nearly $4 billion in annual American assistance to Israel.
He floated this in acknowledgement that the Iran war angered most Americans, and that public opinion on Washington’s historic and ongoing support to Israel has fallen precipitously.
But obviously it’s all too little, too late – as Republicans have been punished at the polls. Many pundits who were once strong MAGA supporters have complained that Trump had effectively abandoned ‘America First’ principles.
They point out that many policies appear more ‘Israel First’ – ultimately at the expense of US taxpayers and future generations.
Some have caught on, seeing the sudden shift in talking points on ending aid to Israel as but a ploy, and that it won’t realistically happen.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has meanwhile on Monday highlighted in a post on X that Trump seemed to finally recognize widespread public dissatisfaction with Israel.
And also…
Araghchi said of Trump: “The vast majority of Americans are disgusted with Israel. Strikingly, he seems confused about why that’s the case.”
“They have had enough. So has our region,” he added, and said that clearly the common American voter is sick of getting dragged into “forever wars” in the region.
