Congressional reporter Myles Morell contributed to this report

President Trump’s extraordinary public rebuke of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the G7 summit has ignited fresh tensions inside the Republican Party — and Sen. John Kennedy is firing back with an unapologetic defense of America’s closest ally.

Trump, speaking to reporters as the summit wrapped, blasted Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The president demanded a “softer touch,” complained that Israel has been fighting “too long,” and declared “too many people have been killed.”

In one of the sharpest lines, Trump said Israel does not “have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah.”

.@POTUS on Israeli military action in Lebanon: “You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses, and they’re not all Hezbollah.” pic.twitter.com/NIna5FFt6O

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 16, 2026

He went further, stating bluntly: “Without us, without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel.”

Just weeks earlier, Trump reportedly unloaded on Netanyahu in a private phone call, telling the prime minister, “You’re fucking crazy,” while accusing him of ingratitude and risking broader U.S. goals with Iran.

“You’re fucking crazy”: Trump fumes at Netanyahu in call on Lebanon https://t.co/nAMDbaMWm6

— Axios (@axios) June 1, 2026

In an exclusive interview with The Gateway Pundit, Kennedy pushed back forcefully against any softening of U.S. support for Israel.

“I don’t understand the context, but I’m a big supporter of Israel, and Israel is our friend. Some days I think Israel is our only friend in the world,” Kennedy said. “But Israel is in a little different situation than America. Physically, in America, we’re surrounded by friends. Israel is not. Israel is surrounded by people that want to kill them and hurt them– the entire time they are dying.”

WATCH:

“And, I don’t blame Israel for fighting back,” he continued. “I admire and respect Israel for fighting back. I think Israel has made the Middle East safer than it’s been in 25 years. Now, they had a lot of help from the United States, of course. But it wasn’t that long ago that Hezbollah was strong as horse radish– they’re not. Israel has put them on their knees. The same thing about Hamas. The same thing about Iran.

“So, I’m very supportive about Israel and if there is a modest disagreement between Israel, or Mr. Netanyahu and President Trump, I have every expectation they will work it out.”

Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican first elected to the Senate in 2017, serves on the Appropriations, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Budget, and Judiciary committees. He has built a solidly pro-Israel voting record.

Kennedy’s strong stance highlights real cracks forming inside Trump’s coalition. While hardcore MAGA voters remain largely supportive of Israel, broader polling reveals growing divisions.

A recent Politico survey found that nearly half of self-identified “MAGA” Trump voters strongly back Israel’s actions, compared to just 29 percent of non-MAGA Trump voters.

Other surveys show a majority of the president’s base now favor conditioning U.S. aid to Israel, even as America provides Israel with $3.8 billion annually in baseline military assistance — $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing plus $500 million for missile defense programs.

Total aid has spiked far higher during conflicts, reaching $12.5 billion in fiscal 2024 and more than $21.7 billion since October 2023.

In a moment of unusual friction between a Republican president and Israel, Kennedy’s message is clear: For many in the GOP Senate, unwavering backing for Israel remains non-negotiable.

Alicia Powe Alicia is an investigative journalist and multimedia reporter. Alicia's work is featured on numerous outlets including the Gateway Pundit, Project Veritas, Red Voice Media, World Net Daily, Townhall and Media Research Center, where she uncovers fraud and abuse in government, media, Big Tech, Big Pharma and public corruption. Alicia has a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She served in the Correspondence Department of the George W. Bush administration and as a War Room analyst for the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee.

You can email Alicia Powe here, and read more of Alicia Powe's articles here.

Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can't see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.