Vice President JD Vance declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the country's election next week, distinguishing his position from President Donald Trump's public backing of the Israeli leader.
In an interview on Mark Halperin's 2WAY Tonight published Monday, Vance said he was focused on endorsing American candidates in the midterms and was not involving himself in Israeli elections. "The president has the most effective endorsement in American or international political history," Vance said, adding that he was "not anti-endorsing him. I'm not pro-endorsing him."
Trump, by contrast, praised Netanyahu on Truth Social as "a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combating the Islamic Republic of Iran." Netanyahu responded by thanking Trump for his "tremendous support and work together."
The divergence between the two officials reflects differing approaches to foreign endorsements. Vance has previously campaigned internationally. He endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's reelection bid in Budapest in April, though Orban was voted out after 16 years in power. Last year, Vance met Alice Weidel, leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party, at a Munich security conference while Elon Musk was also promoting her candidacy.
Vance's reluctance to endorse Netanyahu comes as U.S. public support for Israel has fallen sharply from its historically strong bipartisan levels, according to the source material. Vigorous debate in America has emerged over the Netanyahu-led government's response to the Hamas attack in late 2023, which triggered the current conflict and prompted the upcoming Israeli election.
In June, Vance said that Israel "has almost no friends left in the world and should think hard before turning on the one it has," a comment that reflected his concerns about Israel's international standing.
The Israeli vote next week will be the first national election since Hamas attacked Israel in late 2023.