Donald Trump’s first term in office was sold to the American public as a break from the foreign policy failures of the past, an end to costly, senseless wars and a renewed focus on America’s domestic wellbeing. But when it came to the Middle East, particularly in matters involving Israel, Trump’s presidency quickly revealed how deeply embedded and influential the Israeli lobby remains in shaping U.S. foreign policy. Whether through political debt, ideological capture, or outright pressure, Trump appeared unable, or perhaps unwilling, to resist its pull.
From the moment Sheldon Adelson, one of Trump’s largest campaign donors, threw his financial weight behind him, the trajectory was set. Adelson’s priorities were clear: an unflinching defense of Israeli expansionism and an aggressive stance toward Iran. Trump’s administration, heavily stacked with pro-Israel voices such as David Friedman and Jared Kushner, swiftly delivered on these expectations, moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and defunding humanitarian aid to Palestinians. These were not decisions rooted in American interests, but in satisfying a foreign agenda that had been fused into the political calculations of powerful U.S. actors.
One cannot ignore the possibility that Trump, a political outsider deeply exposed in his private dealings and legal vulnerabilities, became easy prey for pressure groups with clear objectives. His administration’s unquestioning support for Israeli policies, regardless of international law or U.S. strategic coherence, suggests a leader either boxed into a corner or convinced that pleasing Israel was the price for political survival.
The clearest sign of this came with the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani. The Iranian commander was killed in Baghdad during what was reportedly a diplomatic mission. The strike served no immediate U.S. interest and risked a full-scale war, but it aligned perfectly with Israel’s long-standing desire to weaken Iran and destabilize its leadership. Trump took credit for the operation, but many observers questioned whether he truly understood the long-term strategic consequences, or whether the decision was made under pressure from Israel-first hawks in Washington.
While Trump often postured as a dealmaker and anti-war populist, his inability to say “no” to Benjamin Netanyahu told a different story. At times, he appeared conflicted, occasionally criticizing Netanyahu or expressing frustration over Israeli intransigence, but invariably, he would return to full-throated support. This inconsistency suggests a man navigating a minefield, rather than a leader fully in control of his own foreign policy agenda.
Recent developments have only reinforced this dynamic. Trump has defended Netanyahu amid his ongoing corruption trial, calling for the charges to be dropped and showering him with over-the-top praise. At the same time, he’s recycled discredited claims about Iran’s nuclear program, justifying preemptive strikes that his own intelligence agencies have privately questioned. If reports are accurate, much of the supposed “nuclear infrastructure” targeted by U.S. bombers had already been relocated by Iranian officials before the attacks, a symbolic show of force that burned through billions of taxpayer dollars but did little to achieve any meaningful result.
The pattern is familiar: bold, militaristic gestures that play well to the pro-Israel base, but yield no clear benefits for Americans. Worse, they risk dragging the United States into a war of choice, not of necessity, with a capable adversary. And all of it happens under the guise of defending freedom or preventing weapons of mass destruction, narratives long used to disguise deeper motives.
What’s unfolding now is not just a crisis in the Middle East, but a crisis in American sovereignty, where foreign policy decisions are increasingly dictated by lobbying networks and donor influence, rather than sober national interest. The Israeli lobby, through its political funding and media influence, has gained extraordinary leverage in Washington. Trump, for all his anti-establishment bluster, became one more president unable to resist that gravitational pull.
This isn’t to suggest Trump orchestrated these outcomes maliciously. More likely, he saw the political benefit in keeping the Israel-aligned segment of the Republican establishment on his side. Whether through fear of political backlash, strategic miscalculation, or indebtedness, he allowed himself to be co-opted. The tragedy is that in doing so, he helped prolong one of the most unjust conflicts of our time, the systematic erasure of Palestinian life and rights.
As the drums of war once again echo in the background, the question is not whether Iran poses a threat to America. It is whether American leaders, Trump included, can ever disentangle themselves from the tight grip of Israel’s war lobby before more blood is spilled in a conflict that serves neither peace nor U.S. national security.
By Hon. Chima Nnadi-Oforgu
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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