Vice President JD Vance declined to back Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s coming elections, a break from President Trump who has given the Israeli prime minister his backing.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday that Netanyahu “has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The Oct. 27 election is the first national election since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and will be a referendum on Netanyahu’s response.
Asked on Monday if he also endorsed the country’s longest-serving prime minister, Vance said, “I endorse American candidates and that’s where I’m focused on, is the midterms, so I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections.”
“I’m not anti-endorsing him, I’m not pro-endorsing him, I’m not getting involved in Israeli politics,” Vance told journalist Mark Halperin in an interview.
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Vance has waded into international politics before. He visited Budapest, Hungary, in April to publicly endorse then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s re-election bid, five days before the election. Vance said at the time that he was in Budapest “to help him in this campaign cycle.” Last year, Vance met with Germany’s far-right AfD leader Alice Weidel during the Munich Security Conference.
Vance has taken a different approach than Trump on the U.S. relationship with Israel. He has accused elements of the Israeli government of being behind a campaign to shape U.S. public opinion about the war with Iran and undermine negotiations to end the conflict.
He has said that Israel is an ally that is no more important than other U.S. allies. Vance’s positions have been criticized by some Republicans who believe the bond between the U.S. and Israel is a more special one.
Vance is traveling extensively to boost Republican candidates as the midterms approach and has stayed away from giving his own endorsements separate from Trump. He has waded into a few personal endorsements, such as backing his half brother Cory Bowman in the Cincinnati mayoral race.
Write to Natalie Andrews at natalie.andrews@wsj.com