US Vice President JD Vance has declined to back Benjamin Netanyahu for re-election, breaking with President Trump, who has given the Israeli prime minister his “complete and total endorsement” ahead of next week’s Israeli election.
At a midterm campaign rally in Hendersonville, North Carolina, on Monday, Vance said that his focus was on American politics, rather than the contest taking place in Israel on 27 October.
“The president has the most influential endorsement in American or international political history,” Vance told journalist Mark Halperin when asked whether he supported Netanyahu.
“I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on the midterms. So, I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections.”
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