'No Kings' movement poses fresh challenge for Trump, support for Israel plummets in US | Gravitas

Even as US President Donald Trump has been on the campaign trail, with a desperate bid to shore up support for Republicans in the midterm polls due in November, his personal popularity has plunged to a record low. According to a latest poll by Ipsos, 66% of US adults disapprove of his performance as president.

Amid this, the 'No Kings' movement is proving to be another headache for him. Thousands of protesters opposed to Trump rallied in various cities across America, as part of the No Kings movement, with an aim to getting people out to vote early in the midterms. Protesters carried banners such as 'Resist all corruption' and, 'Stop Trump, save democracy'.

Now, this movement was started by liberal organisations within the US in June last year to oppose the policies imposed by Trump. This includes concerns about federal layoffs, ICE action, which has caused the deaths of multiple immigrants and foreign wars initiated by the US President.

Amid this, the temporary suspension of the Instagram account of the 'No Kings' movement over the weekend raised censorship concerns. While Meta apologised and blamed this on a high volume of activity on the account, the movement stressed that restricting communications in the middle of polls is unacceptable.

Now, at a time when the electoral prospects of Republicans are under a cloud, due to rising fuel prices triggered by the Iran war, Trump threw his weight behind Netanyahu for the October 27 Israeli general elections. Hinting that the US is not inclined to finish the job in Iran if another leader is elected as the Israeli PM, he described Netanyahu as strong, brave and brilliant.

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Subsequently, Netanyahu used this endorsement to appeal to Israel's undecided voters. However, the support for Israel within America has been on the decline if we go by recent opinion polls.

Take Gaza, for instance, where the US has largely remained a mute spectator, even as the Israeli military has killed over 74,000 people in the last three years. According to the Ipsos poll, nearly 32% of respondents said that Democrats could deal better with Israel and Gaza, as compared to only 25% others who reposed faith in Republicans.

In another indication that Americans are no longer willing to extend blanket support to Israel, the poll showed that one-third of respondents called for ending all military support to Israel. Another 25% backed reducing military support. Only a small minority urged the US government to ramp up military assistance to Israel.

Now, Israelis expressed mixed views of Trump's endorsement of Netanyahu. While some welcomed his support, many others accused him of interfering in the country's democratic process.