Professor Eitan Gilboa, an expert on US affairs and the head of Bar Ilan's Center for International Affairs says that US President Donald Trump's more conciliatory speech in front of the two houses of Congress does not necessarily mean a change in his fiery approach.
"This was a festive and unusual speech and it's unclear whether this is the new Trump or whether he will go back to his belligerent tweets on Twitter," said Prof. Gilboa. "What we saw was an attempt by Trump to mollify his rivals. He spoke a lot about the need for cooperation on internal matters and on legal procedures. He understands that he needs cooperation in order to implement his policies. He may have a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives but some of the Republican delegates do not support his policies, including John McCain for example."
Gilboa added that the Democrats did not act in a conciliatory manner. "During the course of the speech the Democrats acted as if they are a fighting opposition. They didn't rise in honor of the president and it will be very difficult to gain their cooperation."
Gilboa feels that Trump was right to condemn the latest anti-Semitic outbreaks and the vandalizing of Jewish graveyards, since "up until now he has not done this. Jewish officials claim that he is not doing enough to distance himself from anti-Semitic and violent groups which continue to harm Jewish institutions. There are anti-Semites who support him but he can also say something against them."
Gilboa added that Trump is conducting a war against the media, the legal establishment, and the intelligence agencies and this will make life difficult for him in Washington. He adds that there are Republicans who believe that Trump will not even complete his first term in office. "I heard estimates from Republican sources who say that if they feel that Trump is embarrassing them and they may lose seats in Congress they may even threaten him with impeachment, even though all previous presidents who went through such a process emerged without blemish. It's clear that if his economic plan will work well, and yesterday he listed his achievements in the short time he is president, it will be very difficult to oust him."