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.”
Pressed on whether he was refusing to back the Israeli leader, Vance replied: “I’m not anti-endorsing him. I’m not pro-endorsing him.”
His comments came a day after Trump publicly threw his support behind Netanyahu, praising the prime minister’s record and his partnership with Washington in confronting Iran.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump described Netanyahu as a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” and “an even greater Partner for Peace in combating the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
“BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” the president wrote.
Netanyahu responded by thanking Trump and praising his “clarity, consistency, conviction, and courage”.
“There’s never been a greater friend of Israel in the White House. That’s an understatement,” the prime minister said in a video posted on X.
Vance has increasingly stressed that American foreign policy must be guided by US interests, even where those interests differ from the priorities of Israel’s leadership.
In an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast in July, Vance accused elements within the Israeli government of attempting to influence American public opinion to prevent a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with Iran.
“There are some people within their system that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely,” he said.
Last month, he argued that Washington could not allow its Middle East policy to become “subservient” to Israel’s.
Vance’s comments came amid reports that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, according to Axios, which cited sources familiar with the meeting.
The meeting reportedly took place at the Ovda Air Base in southern Israel, eight days before the election. Israeli Army Radio also reported that the two met at an air force base in the country’s southern desert, but did not name the site.
Hegseth said on social media that he had visited American service personnel in US Central Command’s area of responsibility.
The visit comes amid discussions between Washington and Jerusalem over the possibility of renewed major military operations against Iran.
A spokesman for the US Department of Defense told Al Jazeera it “declines to comment” on the report.
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