The political shift within the American right, once a bastion of unwavering support for Israel, has become so significant that even the White House—and President Donald Trump himself—are now taking notice of the changing tide.
According to a report published Thursday by the Financial Times, citing a source in contact with the White House, Trump recently told a prominent Jewish donor: “My people are starting to hate Israel.” The source added that senior officials are observing an “anti-Israel, very anti-Jewish” sentiment emerging within right-wing and MAGA-aligned circles.
Recent polling data backs up this shift. A Gallup survey released this month found that only 71% of Republicans approve of Israel’s war in Gaza, down from 79% in September of last year. The drop is especially steep among younger Republicans: just 58% of Republicans under 35 support Israel’s military actions, compared to 76% of those over 50.
Additionally, 36% of Republicans now support the creation of a Palestinian state—a historically high figure—and overall Republican sympathy for Israel has fallen from 71% to 65% in the past year.
Prominent conservative voices are amplifying the trend. On Thursday, Tucker Carlson—one of the most influential figures on the American right—released an interview with former U.S. soldier Michael Aguilar, who served as a security contractor for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Aguilar recounted harrowing scenes in Gaza, criticized the behavior of Israeli soldiers, and exposed operational failures within the GHF.
Carlson, who has increasingly taken an adversarial stance toward Israel, recently spoke at a Turning Points USA (TPUSA) event where he stated that Americans who serve in the Israeli military should lose their U.S. citizenship—a remark that drew loud applause.
TPUSA is the largest Republican organization on American college campuses in which its founder, Charlie Kirk, is an avowed supporter of Israel.
In another striking development, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene became the first Republican lawmaker to describe the Israeli campaign in Gaza as a “genocide,” in a post published Monday on X (formerly Twitter). Greene has become a leading Republican critic of Israel, not just in terms of foreign aid, but also in condemning Israel’s military actions.
Greene, widely viewed as one of the most in-touch voices with Trump’s base, may represent a growing trend among Republicans who are not only skeptical of supporting Israel financially but are beginning to adopt explicitly anti-Israel positions.
Trump’s reported comments to the donor reflect a rapidly shifting political landscape—one that both the Republican establishment and pro-Israel lobbying groups may be ill-prepared to navigate. As the GOP looks ahead to the 2028 election cycle, it may find itself balancing increasing grassroots hostility toward Israel with the expectations of long-standing Zionist donors.