Trump leverages U.S. aid to Israel in warning to drop Netanyahu trial

President Trump is pressuring Israel to halt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial, dangling an implicit threat to suspend military assistance if the "witch hunt" continues.Why it matters: U.S. presidents have long treated aid to Israel as a sacrosanct, bipartisan commitment. Trump's unprecedented intervention appeared to tie the security of 10 million Israelis to the criminal prosecution of one man.Trump's Truth Social post — in which he claimed the "political witch hunt" would interfere with negotiations with Iran and Hamas — was his second in three days about Netanyahu's trial.It followed a decision by Israeli judges to reject Netanyahu's request to delay the hearing by two weeks, defying his argument that foreign policy and national security demands warranted a postponement.What they're saying: "It is terrible what they are doing in Israel to Bibi Netanyahu," Trump wrote. "He is a War Hero, and a Prime Minister who did a fabulous job working with the United States to bring Great Success in getting rid of the dangerous Nuclear threat in Iran."Trump claimed Netanyahu is "in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back," and questioned how Israel could force its leader "to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING."He then warned: "The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this."The extraordinary statement was widely interpreted as an effort to leverage U.S. military assistance to pressure Israel to cancel the trial.Reality check: The negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain stalled — in part because of Netanyahu's refusal to commit to ending the war in Gaza.Iran, meanwhile, has yet to indicate it's ready for direct talks with the U.S. It's unclear how Netanyahu's trial would meaningfully interfere with either track.Catch up quick: Netanyahu is standing trial for charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases.He's accused of accepting more than $200,000 in gifts from wealthy businessmen, and of granting regulatory benefits worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a telecom tycoon in exchange for favorable news coverage.The trial has stretched on for four years, in part due to Netanyahu's repeated legal delay tactics. The former head of Israel's Shin Bet has accused the prime minister of trying to use executive powers to stall the case.Driving the news: On Wednesday, Trump publicly called for Netanyahu's corruption trial to be "cancelled immediately" — or for Netanyahu to be granted a pardon. It was the first time he had made such a direct demand.Trump has rarely spoken publicly about the trial. Just one day earlier, he appeared visibly frustrated with Netanyahu after both Israel and Iran violated a ceasefire brokered by the president.But with that in the rearview mirror, the two leaders are now gearing up for a victory lap over the successful U.S.-Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear program.Behind the scenes: A White House official told Axios that Trump's first post on Wednesday — written aboard Air Force One — was prompted by a news article he read on his way back to Washington from the NATO summit in The Hague.The official described the post as spontaneous and not coordinated with Netanyahu."The president read in the article that Bibi has to be in court on Monday and thought it's crazy," the official said. "He identified with what Bibi is going through and decided to write something about it."But in Israel, many saw Trump's move as part of a broader strategy. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the former president shouldn't interfere in a legal proceeding in an independent, sovereign country."But I guess he is doing it as compensation to Bibi in return for ending the war in Gaza. It sounds like a Trump thing to do," Lapid told Israeli news site Ynet.Between the lines: Netanyahu's warm response only fueled suspicions of coordination.The prime minister — who previously accused Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden of meddling in Israeli politics — praised Trump's intervention and amplified it through official statements and social media posts."This is Trump's emperor complex at work," former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told Axios."He thinks if he drops bombs on Fordow and gives aid to Israel, he gets to dictate to Israeli judges how to rule. We've probably never seen a more blatant U.S. intervention in Israel's internal affairs. It won't work," Shapiro said.What to watch: The only official with the authority to cancel Netanyahu's trial is Israel's attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara. The odds of her doing so are virtually zero.But Netanyahu and his allies have been pushing for a Cabinet decision to fire her, and Trump's public pressure could fuel that effort.Israel's Supreme Court would likely overrule such a move, but the clash could ignite a constitutional crisis and plunge the country back into the political turmoil that gripped it before the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

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