The United States no longer views Israel as an exceptional ally exempt from the Trump administration’s “America First” foreign policy approach, according to a report published by Politico.
The publication, citing unnamed sources, said the administration is increasingly applying the same strategic principles to Israel that it applies to other US allies.
An unnamed Israeli political adviser told Politico that Israel had assumed it would remain exempt from the “America First” doctrine.
“We naively gambled on being exempt from the ‘America First’ principle,” the adviser said. “But this couldn’t last. We couldn’t remain an exception to all US foreign policy decisions for four years.”
According to the report, US Vice President J.D. Vance has emerged as one of the administration’s strongest advocates of the policy shift, delivering unusually direct criticism of the Israeli leadership.
Politico said Vance urged Israeli officials to remember that the United States remains Israel’s “only strong ally” and cautioned against taking Washington’s support for granted.
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The report also noted a decline in high-level engagement between the two governments.
According to Politico, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington five times in 2025 but has made only one trip in 2026, in February.
The publication, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that another White House visit by Netanyahu is not currently under consideration and that direct communication between the two governments has become less frequent.
“The worst is yet to come,” the source told the publication.
The report follows earlier reporting by Axios, which said President Donald Trump sharply criticised Netanyahu during a telephone conversation on 2nd June.
According to Axios, Trump expressed frustration with Netanyahu’s approach to Middle East policy and referred to the Israeli prime minister as “crazy.”
Trump later confirmed that he had described Netanyahu as a “damned madman” during the exchange, according to the report.
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