Vance Declines to Endorse Netanyahu Ahead of Israel's October 27 Election, Breaking With Trump

US Vice President JD Vance has declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's October 27 parliamentary election, distancing himself from President Donald Trump's public backing of the Israeli leader. In a Monday interview with journalist Mark Halperin aboard Air Force Two, Vance said he would not intervene in Israel's political contest, according to CNN.

'I'm not anti-endorsing him. I'm not pro-endorsing him. I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections,' Vance said, stressing that his focus was on the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3. 'I endorse American candidates, and that's where I'm focused on is the midterms.' The remarks came as Vance campaigned in North Carolina for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley.

The contrast with Trump's position is stark. On Sunday, the president gave Netanyahu his 'complete and total endorsement,' praising him as a great wartime leader and a partner in confronting Iran. Netanyahu thanked Trump for what he called tremendous backing ahead of a vote that polls suggest could leave his governing coalition short of a parliamentary majority, the AP reports.

Vance's restraint also contrasts with his own record of intervening in foreign elections. He travelled to Budapest earlier this year to back then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán before Orbán lost his re-election bid, and last year he met Alice Weidel, leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany. Meanwhile, Axios reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, meeting Netanyahu at Ovda Air Base amid US-Israeli discussions about potentially resuming major combat operations against Iran.

Israelis will vote in the country's first national election since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack and the ensuing regional wars, and opinion polls suggest Netanyahu's governing coalition could struggle to secure a parliamentary majority. The outcome will shape not only Israel's domestic politics but also the trajectory of US-Israel coordination on Iran, Gaza's future and the fragile ceasefires holding across the region.

Photo: David Maiolo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons