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JD Vance Declines To Endorse Benjamin Netanyahu For Reelection Despite Trump’s Backing
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JD Vance declines to endorse Netanyahu ahead of Israel's vote. He says he won't involve himself in Israeli elections.
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Vance declines Netanyahu nod
US Vice President JD Vance declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection, even as President Donald Trump backed Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s October 27 election.
“I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on as the midterms. So I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections.”
Vance told journalist Mark Halperin, “I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on as the midterms. So I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections.”
Vance also framed Trump’s endorsement as uniquely influential, saying, “The president has the most effective endorsement in American or international political history.”
Vance’s refusal came after Trump’s public endorsement, in which Trump described Netanyahu as “a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combating the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Trump endorsement triggers backlash
Israeli opposition figures criticized Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu while reacting to the timing ahead of the October 27 vote. Yair Lapid said the endorsement was “in the air,” and he argued that “Instead of pressuring Trump to attack Iran, Netanyahu begged him to post on X in support of him ahead of the election.”
Avigdor Lieberman suggested the endorsement was “more a matter of convenience for the president,” telling Radio 103FM that it was “a 'Bibi puppet.'” Democrats party leader Yair Golan dismissed the endorsement, telling Kan public radio that “The people of Israel, not President Trump, will decide who wins this election,” and he charged that the Netanyahu government was “wanting endless wars.”
US-Israel ties at stake
Israeli leaders and US officials faced renewed scrutiny over how Trump’s endorsement could affect the US-Israel relationship after the election.
A senior Israeli official said American representatives regarded an attack on European diplomats as “an act of terrorism,” and the official said they were “particularly troubled by the fact that it occurred in a Christian Palestinian village.”
The same report said Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel could lose American support after Trump’s presidency ends, tying the question of future relations to the West Bank incidents.
Democratic Rep. Daniel Goldman criticized Trump for campaigning on Netanyahu’s behalf, writing on X, “Trump should not be expressing his opinion about democratic elections in another country, but it is not surprising that he is doing so for the anti-democratic, pro-authoritarian candidate.”