What a coincidence. On the very day Americans head to the polls, Donald Trump suddenly announces that the United States will stop giving Israel $4 billion a year. Apparently, he and Benjamin Netanyahu have already made a deal. Yeah right. How convenient.
Trump wants the headlines, the credit and, perhaps most importantly, the political ammunition. With growing opposition to American military assistance to Israel, particularly among Democratic voters, but also among his own base, he is suddenly presenting himself as the man who will pull the plug. Don't buy it.
The real story is that Democrats are increasingly under pressure from their own voters to end unconditional military assistance to Israel. If they win control of Congress, they will have an opportunity to do something about it. They could turn years of promises, protests and political arguments into an actual legislative fight.
But don't celebrate just yet. Even a Democratic victory would not guarantee an end to the funding. Washington has a long tradition of making campaign promises and discovering, once elected, that changing the status quo is considerably less attractive.
Trump, meanwhile, is already taking a victory lap over a decision whose details he hasn't even explained. He says the money is going. We say: show us the paperwork.
The irony is delicious. The man who has spent years treating American foreign policy as his personal business is now trying to claim credit for ending a financial commitment that only Democrats may actually have to fight to change.
In Washington, promises are cheap. Four billion dollars is not.
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