Vance Declines to Endorse Netanyahu for Reelection After Trump Gives His Backing
Vice President JD Vance said Monday he would not take a side in Israel’s election, telling journalist Mark Halperin that he was focused on the midterms instead, two days after President Trump endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu.
Vice President JD Vance on Monday declined to say whether he supports Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid for reelection, putting him at odds with President Donald Trump’s weekend endorsement of the Israeli prime minister.
“I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on is the midterm,” Vance said in an interview with journalist Mark Halperin aboard Air Force Two. “I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections.”
When pressed, Vance said he was neither for nor against an endorsement. “I’m not anti-endorsing him. I’m not pro-endorsing him. I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections,” he said.
Trump’s Saturday endorsement
Trump had stayed out of the Israeli race until Saturday, when he gave Netanyahu his full backing, calling him a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” in a social media post. Earlier this month, Trump had told Time magazine, “I’m not involved in [Israeli] politics anymore.”
The contrast is notable: Vance traveled to Budapest earlier this year to campaign for Trump-endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of his election, which Orbán lost. On Monday, the vice president said his attention was on the midterm elections at home.
Timing
Vance’s remarks came days before Israel’s Oct. 27 vote and as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled to Israel on an unannounced visit. Hegseth met Monday evening with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, according to an Israeli source familiar with the details and another source familiar with the trip, CNN reported.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN.
