Former Netanyahu aide says Israeli premier ‘lost standing’ with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost influence with US President Donald Trump, a former adviser said Wednesday, citing a gradual deterioration in relations between the longtime allies.

Netanyahu had "lost his standing in the eyes of the strong man in Washington," Nir Hefetz told Israel's 103 FM radio station.

Trump "will not shed a single tear" if former Israeli army chief and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot becomes Israel's prime minister within six months, he added.

The current Knesset's term expires in October, with elections expected to be held later this year.

Earlier Wednesday, Netanyahu's Likud party said the Israeli premier would be a candidate in the upcoming elections.

The statement came after Trump, in an interview with ABC News, raised questions about whether Netanyahu intended to run in the next polls.

Hefetz said he first sensed a decline in relations between Netanyahu and Trump on Oct. 11, 2025, when US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner attended a gathering in Tel Aviv.

"When Witkoff mentioned Netanyahu's name, the crowd booed. I looked at Witkoff and Kushner and saw them smiling. They weren't happy, but it was clear they understood the situation," he said.

"That was an indication that Trump and those around him had grown tired of the passage of time and Netanyahu's tricks. They are political allies with a friendship that spans decades, so the rope between them did not suddenly snap, but I saw the first signs of collapse then."

Hefetz added that while state interests play a role in US-Israeli relations, "there is also a very strong personal dimension."

He argued that Trump's inner circle has been telling the US president for some time that Netanyahu is "a major problem" and that he is causing harm.

At the same time, Hefetz stressed that he does not believe relations between the two have completely broken down, but rather are undergoing a slow process of erosion.

Questions about the nature of ties between Netanyahu and Trump have intensified in Israel in recent days following a report by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, which claimed Trump lashed out at Netanyahu during a phone call earlier this month, allegedly calling him an "ungrateful bastard" over rising tensions in Lebanon and accusing him of undermining ongoing negotiations with Iran.

The region has remained on edge since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran in late February, triggering Iranian retaliation against Israel and other regional countries hosting US assets.

A temporary ceasefire was reached on April 8, but negotiations later stalled amid disputes over its implementation and subsequent regional developments.