U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance speaks at a midterm election rally at the Level Up Training Complex on October 15, 2026 in Monroe, Michigan.
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US Vice President J.D. Vance has declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after President Donald Trump announced his support for Netanyahu’s re-election bid next week.
“The president has the most effective support in the history of American or international politics,” Vance said in an interview with Mark Halperin’s “2WAY Tonight” published Monday. “I support American candidates, and that’s what I’m focused on in the midterm elections.”
Vance said he was not criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “I’m not anti-supporting him. I’m not supporting him,” he said, adding, “I’m not involved in Israeli elections.”
These comments differ from the approach of President Donald Trump, who supported the Israeli prime minister in next week’s election.
President Trump praised Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, on Truth Social on Sunday, calling him “a great warrior prime minister and an even greater partner of peace in the fight against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked President Trump for his “tremendous support and cooperation” in a social media post.
Mr. Vance has expressed his opinions on foreign policy before. He campaigned in Budapest in April and publicly expressed support for then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s re-election bid. Mr Orbán was then voted out after 16 years in power. Last year, in Munich for a security conference, Vance met with Alice Weidel, leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party, which was backed by Elon Musk at the time.
Israel’s vote next week will be the first national election since Hamas attacked Israel in late 2023.
The comments came amid a sharp decline in American public support for Israel, which had historically been strong among both Republicans and Democrats. In the United States, there is also a lively debate about the response of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government to the Hamas attack.
Vance said in June that Israel had few friends left in the world and should think twice before relying on the ones it does have.
