Among many American Jews, there has been an endless debate over Donald Trump and Israel. Some view him as one of Israel’s greatest friends. Others view him as reckless, unpredictable, and ultimately dangerous to the Jewish state. Supporters point to diplomatic achievements, while critics point to strategic confusion and personal volatility. Yet both sides may be asking the wrong question.

The question is not what Donald Trump did to Israel. The larger question is what Donald Trump did to America.

Israel, despite its many internal divisions, remains a remarkably resilient nation. Israelis live in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods on earth. They have survived wars, terrorism, missile attacks, intifadas, international isolation, hostile administrations, and diplomatic betrayals. The Jewish state was born into crisis and has spent most of its existence navigating threats that would have shattered many other nations. Israel understands a hard truth that generations of Jews learned through centuries of exile: no foreign leader, however friendly, can ultimately be relied upon for Jewish survival.

America, however, entered the Trump era from a position of extraordinary strength. It possessed the world’s largest economy, the world’s most powerful military, and institutions that had survived civil war, world wars, economic depression, and political scandal. The United States was hardly perfect, but it remained the central pillar of the democratic world order. Its greatest strength was not military power. Its greatest strength was trust—trust in institutions, trust in elections, trust in the rule of law, and trust that fellow Americans, despite fierce disagreements, remained part of the same national family.

That trust has been steadily deteriorating for years. Donald Trump did not create the disease. But he accelerated it.

Trump understood something that many politicians before him did not. He understood that fear attracts attention faster than hope. Anger mobilizes voters faster than persuasion. Outrage spreads faster than facts. The modern media environment rewarded conflict, and Trump became its greatest practitioner. Every disagreement became a war. Every criticism became an attack. Every compromise became weakness. Every institution that challenged him became suspect.

The result was not merely another rough chapter in American politics. The result was the transformation of politics into a permanent state of national emergency. Americans increasingly came to view every election as a struggle for survival. Every political opponent became an existential threat.........

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