Zelenskyy and Netanyahu face uncertain reception in Trump's unpredictable White House
The simultaneous visits of Ukraine's Zelenskyy and Israel's Netanyahu to Washington highlight the shifting dynamics of US foreign policy under President Trump, with both leaders facing uncertain outcomes due to Trump's mercurial leadership.
The converging visits of Benjamin Netanyahu and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington offer a stark portrait of a world in flux, where decades-old certainties have been shattered. The United States remains a military and economic superpower, but the imperial presidency that Donald Trump has tried to forge is in decline, largely due to his own erratic leadership.
Netanyahu and Zelenskyy arrive on opposite trajectories. The Israeli prime minister's star has fallen dramatically since he persuaded Trump to join a war on Iran five months ago, based on the false promise that Tehran's regime would quickly collapse. Since then, Trump has publicly scolded Netanyahu and leaked insulting tirades about him. Israel has been excluded from negotiations with Iran, and its views were ignored on selling F-35s to Turkey and a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia. A poll found nearly half of Americans thought Netanyahu should be arrested on arrival for war crimes.
By contrast, Zelenskyy arrives in a stronger position. Ukraine has defied predictions of defeat, becoming a world leader in drone warfare. Parts of the Maga base, which once scorned him as a loser, are now warming to him.
The occasion of their coinciding visits was the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican hawk who fiercely supported both Israel and Ukraine. In that respect, he represented a dying breed.
But this is no normal administration. Trump rules by whim, and neither visitor can predict his reception. Both wanted no cameras in the room. Trump began his presidency with full support for Netanyahu's wars, but now, facing voter discontent, he is trying to disentangle from the region, finding Israel recalcitrant.
In Ukraine, Trump proposed peace deals echoing Moscow's talking points, rewarding aggression with territory Russia had not even won. Ukraine refused to capitulate and fought on despite drastic cuts in US aid, relying on Europe and its own innovative expertise.
Zelenskyy has become an unlikely darling of extreme Maga influencers like Lara Loomer, who once apologized for the Russian invasion but now calls for "moral clarity" in supporting Ukraine.
While Zelenskyy's ascent mirrors Netanyahu's decline, their status is not equal. Zelenskyy's starting point is low after the infamous White House ambush in February 2025, when Trump and Vice President Vance humiliated him. This time he has some cards, but not a winning hand without US support. His immediate goal is modest: for Trump to honor Graham by backing a Russia sanctions bill. Direct US military aid to Ukraine is unlikely to return soon; Patriot interceptors have been used up in the Middle East, many to protect Israel.
Netanyahu may be out of favor, but the US commitment to Israel's defense is on a scale Ukraine can only dream of. Both leaders share the awareness that their relationship with the administration can be upended in seconds in the court of the irascible, flagging would-be emperor.
