President Donald Trump joked that he could move to Israel and become its prime minister if Americans grow tired of him.
During a phone interview with Fox News' Fox & Friends on Tuesday (November 3), Trump claimed he has a 99% approval rating in Israel before suggesting he could become the country’s prime minister.
“I'm at 99% approval rating in Israel. Can you believe it?” Trump said. “In fact, if people ever got tired of me in the U.S., I'll move to Israel and become prime minister.”
He continued, “I have the highest approval rating of anybody in history because I've been.”
Trump did not identify polling data to support his 99% approval claim.
During the same interview, Trump announced that the United States would stop providing roughly$4 billion in annual military assistance to Israel by the end of 2026, saying the country no longer needs the financial support.
Trump did not explain how the change, which would require congressional involvement, would be implemented.
According to The Washington Post, Trump said he had previously discussed ending the funding with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He also connected the decision to growing domestic opposition to U.S. military assistance for Israel, specifically pointing to Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who has made ending the aid a campaign issue.
“Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don’t need it? It’s a bad talking point,” Trump said, according to The Washington Post.
The announcement would bring an early end to a 10-year security agreement signed in 2016 under former President Barack Obama. The agreement provides Israel with $38 billion in military assistance, primarily to subsidize purchases of U.S.-made weapons, and was scheduled to expire at the end of 2028.
Netanyahu has also acknowledged that U.S. military assistance could eventually wind down. According to The Washington Post, he has called on Israel to strengthen its domestic defense production and reduce its dependence on American funding.
Tuesday's remarks were not the first time Trump joked about pursuing Israel's top political office.
In May, Al Jazeera reported that Trump floated the idea of running for Israeli prime minister while speaking to reporters about the war with Iran. He made the suggestion after claiming he had 99% support in Israel and also praised Netanyahu, saying the prime minister would do whatever he wanted.
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