JD Vance Declines to Endorse Netanyahu for Reelection
The Vance Netanyahu endorsement question came up directly on Monday, and the vice president’s answer was a clear no — at least in his telling. Vice President JD Vance declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection bid, distancing himself from Israel’s election just one day after President Donald Trump threw his full support behind the longtime Israeli leader.
Asked in an interview with journalist Mark Halperin whether he endorsed Netanyahu after Trump’s endorsement over the weekend, Vance said his focus was on American races. “The president has the most effective endorsement in American or international political history,” Vance said. “I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on in the midterms. So I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections.”
Why Vance Is Staying Out of Israel’s Election
When Halperin pressed him on whether he was deliberately avoiding a position on Netanyahu, Vance clarified that his neutrality was not hostility toward the Israeli leader. “I’m not anti-endorsing him. I’m not pro-endorsing him. I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections,” he said.
The remarks came during an interview aboard Air Force Two, recorded Monday, as Vance traveled to campaign for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley of North Carolina. Israel’s parliamentary election is set for October 27 — nine days away — and Vance said the November 3 U.S. midterm elections were where his attention belonged.
Notably, Vance has not always stayed out of foreign elections. Last spring he traveled to Budapest to campaign for then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whom Trump had endorsed, before Orbán’s party lost that country’s parliamentary election.
Trump’s “Complete and Total Endorsement”
Trump’s endorsement of Netanyahu arrived Saturday in a lengthy Truth Social post, in which the president gave the Israeli prime minister his “Complete and Total Endorsement” and called him a “Great Warrior Prime Minister.”
Trump praised Netanyahu’s wartime leadership and his partnership with Washington, particularly in confronting Iran, and warned that the United States could be forced to shoulder regional security burdens on its own if Israeli voters choose a different leader. The timing — just over a week before Israelis head to the polls — made the endorsement impossible to ignore.
It also marked a reversal of sorts. Earlier this month, Trump told Time magazine, “I’m not involved in [Israeli] politics anymore,” before offering his full-throated backing days later.
A Sensitive Moment for U.S.-Israel Politics
Vance’s decision to hold back lands at a delicate moment for Jewish Americans and the U.S.-Israel alliance. Concerns about antisemitism have surged across the political spectrum ahead of the midterm elections, and Republicans have sought to portray Democrats — including Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed — as hostile toward Jews and Israel.
At the same time, Republicans face their own internal divisions. Vance has faced skepticism from Jewish Republicans about his commitment to Jewish Americans and the U.S. alliance with Israel. Last month he spoke privately in Las Vegas to the Republican Jewish Coalition, a leading GOP group advocating a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, where he reportedly left a positive impression but stopped short of disavowing conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, whose views on Israel have drawn criticism.
The vice president’s deference to Trump — praising the president’s endorsement while declining to add his own — appears designed to avoid daylight between the two men while keeping Vance focused on the domestic midterm campaign.
The Stakes in Israel’s Election
Israel’s October 27 vote comes amid the ongoing war with Iran and deep domestic polarization. Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, is seeking to extend his tenure against challengers who argue the country needs new leadership to navigate the regional crisis.
Trump’s endorsement carries unusual weight: an American president publicly weighing in on an ally’s election nine days before voting. Whether it helps Netanyahu with Israeli voters — some of whom may bristle at foreign involvement — remains an open question.
Vance’s refusal to join Trump, meanwhile, may signal a calculated effort by the vice president to preserve his standing with voters who favor a more restrained American foreign policy — or simply a desire not to be drawn into a foreign contest he cannot control, weeks before Americans vote themselves.