Aaron David Miller

that had occurred in his own personal life.

Trump has freed himself from, in my judgment, the emotional constraints which have prevented a number of American presidents in having the kind of conversations that Trump had with Netanyahu.

But it's more than that.

It's the politics as well.

Trump is the first American president who has such a tight grip on the Republican Party

That, in effect, Benjamin Netanyahu has cultivated the Republican Party for years as a sort of higher court of appeals if he ever was boxed in by a Democratic president, which he was, I mean, in 2015 when Obama did the nuclear deal with Iran.

John Boehner invites Netanyahu to address Congress and Netanyahu takes it up.

It tries to end run the Obama administration.

Benjamin Netanyahu cannot end run Donald Trump because Trump owns the Republican Party.

American views of Israel, look at the Pew polls, have fundamentally been altered as a consequence.

of Israeli policies in Gaza.

So Trump has more running room, more room to maneuver on Israel than any other American president.

And I think that may explain why now.

I think the September 9th strike by Netanyahu on Doha against the external leadership persuaded Trump that Netanyahu was now undermining something that was important to him.

In Doha.

Right.

And I think he began to understand that Netanyahu was undermining the Abraham Accords, creating a degree of instability in a region of the world where economic profit and financial gain requires stability.

And I think he began to see that Netanyahu was making him look weak.

And to use Trump's favorite term with respect to Putin –

Netanyahu was even playing him and believed that he had a much wider margin to do anything he wanted, he, Netanyahu, and that Trump would support him.