Public trust in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hit a record low, with a new Pew Research Center survey revealing that 59% of Americans now lack confidence in his handling of world affairs.
This represents a sharp climb from 2023, when only 42% of the population expressed similar doubts. CNN senior data analyst Harry Enten described the shift as a nearly 20-point movement in just three years, noting that the sentiment has moved well beyond partisan lines to include a majority of the entire American public.
“In 2023, the not confident percentage was 42. It is up significantly, up like a rocket, up to 59%,” Enten said during a Monday broadcast. “We’re not just talking Democrats here. We’re talking the entire American public, nearly three in five.”
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The data highlights a growing generational divide, particularly within the Republican Party. While only 30% of Republicans aged 50 and older expressed a lack of confidence in Netanyahu, that number jumps to 58% among Republicans between the ages of 18 and 49.
Among Democrats, the disapproval is more uniform, sitting at 81% for older voters and 73% for those in the younger bracket. Enten noted that this internal GOP friction could become a defining factor in the 2028 primary season, signaling a “massive flip” in how the party views its relationship with Israel.
This decline in personal approval for Netanyahu coincides with widespread domestic opposition to the ongoing war with Iran. Recent polling underscores this trend: a May 6 Ipsos poll found 58% of Americans disapprove of the conflict, while a March Economist/YouGov poll placed opposition at 60%.
Despite the numbers, Netanyahu maintained in a Sunday interview with “60 Minutes” that the war is “not over.” He claimed that the U.S. goal under the current administration was the total removal of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile and stated that Israel eventually intends to phase out its reliance on U.S. military aid over the next ten years.
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The origins of the conflict remain a point of intense scrutiny. According to reports from The New York Times, Netanyahu and other high-ranking Israeli officials met with President Trump at the White House on Feb. 11 to argue that military action was a necessity.
Following that push, a State Department release from April 21 explicitly stated that the United States entered the war on behalf of Israel. As the conflict persists, the American public appears increasingly disconnected from both the war’s objectives and the leader spearheading the Israeli effort.
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