Opinion: How Netanyahu exploited Trump's biggest weakness
Let us now praise famous men — and the famously transactional friendships they foster. Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel and amongst the world's longest-running acts in the global political circus, has always possessed a singular talent: the ability to both infuriate and seduce American presidents, often simultaneously.
From Bush the Patriarch to Clinton the Slick, from W. the Phlegmatic to Obama the Aloof to Biden the Irascible, each occupant of the Oval Office has taken his turn being charmed, used, and ultimately exasperated by Israel's master tactician. Bibi is as fluent in American politics and raw ambition as he is in English. But after 30 years of Netanyahu's tangos, rumbas, and lambadas, perhaps no dance has been more compelling — or more co-dependent — than Bibi's political hora with Donald J. Trump.
For all their resemblance and blunt camaraderie, Bibi has irritated Trump plenty over the years. In 2020, with a camera trained on him and a calculating gleam in his eye, Bibi dispassionately acknowledged that Joe Biden had indeed won the presidential election, sending Trump into apoplexy. The maven of Mar-a-Lago didn't forget. He fumed, he stewed, and for a while, Bibi was persona non grata in Trump World, exiled from the court of MAGA.
But Bibi, always catlike in his ability to adapt, beguile, and stick the landing, is fully aware of Trump's elemental weakness: his ego. With well-chosen words of flattery, Netanyahu effortlessly wooed The Donald back onto Team Bibi, singing songs of Trump's 'courage' and acumen, his 'historic decisions' and 'unmatched friendship' with Israel. Bibi, with combat training, and M.I.T. and Harvard pedigree, knows how to hit his marks.
Trump, in return, twirls his tail like a proud Jack Russell terrier, honored that the Israelis — those legendarily brilliant, gadget-slinging, hardcore, tech-wielding warriors of modernity — are in awe of his genius. Bibi's people have encouraged this perceived tribute, inviting Trumpworld into classified briefings, offering demonstrations of drone warfare, and engaging in plenty of ceremonial back-patting. For a president who prefers a concise PowerPoint from Mossad to a protracted, yawn-fest NATO summit, such homage is irresistible.
But Bibi goes deeper still. He understands MAGA in ways that would make a CPAC planner proud. He talks about 'America First' not with trepidation or cynicism but with admiration, positioning Israel as a scrappy partner rather than a needy dependent, in a shared civilizational struggle. What we do here, he tells American conservatives, is what you believe in over there. It's Steve Bannon-speak, and it works. So here we are: Bibi and Trump, reunited in the crucible of war. Trump, for his part, is leaning into it, framing the Middle East as a place that was 'quiet' and 'stable' when he was first in charge and devolved into chaos under 'Sleepy Joe' Biden. The two machers now share a cause, a villain (Iran) and a buzzy streaming series. It's an extended wartime honeymoon — a second act in the Bibi-Donnie bromance.
It will be curtains for that second act, however, if Trump doesn't get a deal. And quickly. Trump wants deals. Trump understands deals. Trump lives for deals. If he senses that cutting a bargain with Tehran will get him a fine trophy — a Nobel, perhaps, or merely a flattering New York Post cover, he'll do it. And that's no deal for Netanyahu, who has staked his legacy on being the man who stops Iran from getting the bomb. If Trump even flirts with Khamenei's intermediaries, Bibi will likely race over to Fox News and remind the American right why some red lines aren't meant to be crossed.
And therein remains the pattern: Embrace, exploit, betray, reconcile. Bibi and Trump, both transactional to a fault, are not ride-or-die allies but co-stars in a drama where the plot twists and applause lines are always telegraphed but never boring. As with all aging performers, they scramble for the stage, the spotlight, and the standing ovation— even if it means stepping on each other's lines and cues. In the end, their relationship isn't about ideology or diplomacy. It's about mutual usefulness. Trump gets to boast of Jewish love and Israeli loyalty. Bibi gets a powerful American booster with a multi-million-strong base.
But when the cameras are off and the deals get twisty, don't be surprised if these two divas once again go their separate ways, for at least a time — and then reunite for the next act. After all, in politics as in love, as in showbiz, timing is everything. And Bibi Netanyahu never strays too far from center stage. Mark Halperin is editor-in-chief and host at the live video platform 2WAY and the host of 'Next Up' on the Megyn Kelly network.
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