A Costly Endorsement

So certain I was that with his approval rating acutely nosediving, I bet my friend a beer that President Trump would not want to further diminish the Republican presence when the newly elected congress convenes, and will refrain from endorsing Prime Minister Netanyahu Israel’s upcoming election.

Well, you can’t win them all.

I wonder, though, if the president understands that he is, in actuality, endorsing the Likud, and with the “Great Warrior” comes a government that includes incompetency, insensitivity, and borderline racism. He is also most likely unaware of how Bibi goes out of his way to appease the haredim and is, for all practical purposes, doing nothing to ensure that the responsibility for the protection of our country be equally shared. And it’s somewhat troubling that the president seems undisturbed by how the prime minister is stonewalling all efforts to have an independent investigation into the October 7 massacre.

Okay, yes, the need to prevent a nuclear Iran is direly critical, and it’s not unlikely that military force will, again, become necessary. Why the president thinks that he could count only on Netanyahu for partnering in this effort is not clear. And misleading.

Our bet, by the way, was made a number of weeks ago, long before Trump’s recent declaration of impartiality. I can’t help but wonder if the prime minister quietly pulled one of his patented “gevald” campaigns to convince the president that Gadi Eisenkot would be a disaster.

It remains to be seen if whatever it was that changed President Trump’s mind makes a difference come election day. The endorsement will, if nothing else, ensure an obedient and complacent Netanyahu should he be the one to successfully cobble together a coalition. And with just over two years left to secure a lasting legacy as president, it is not at all unlikely that potentially compromising concessions will be demanded of Israel. All of us and not just Bibi will wind up paying a hefty price for that endorsement.

And, more importantly, it cost me a beer.