(José Niño, Headline USA) President Donald Trump already has a backup plan if Americans sour on him, and it involves running Israel.
TMZ reported that the president joked about moving there and taking over as prime minister during an Election Day appearance on Fox News on Tuesday.
Trump built the joke around his claim that he enjoys 99% approval in Israel.
“In fact, if people ever got tired of me in the U.S., I’ll move to Israel, become prime minister,” Trump declared.
He went on to insist that he holds the “highest approval rating of anybody in history,” but he offered no poll to back up the number.
Trump tried out the same joke in May, and Lead Stories writer Ed Payne searched for a survey showing 99% and found none. Payne placed Trump’s support in Israel at 69% to 79%.
Israeli confidence in Trump has also slid. The Jewish People Policy Institute found in July that only 7% of Israelis held a great deal of confidence in him to do the right thing on relations between the 2 countries, while 41% held some and 45% held none.
Americans show even less enthusiasm for his job performance. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Monday put his approval at 32%.
In the interview, Trump also praised Israel as a great partner, touted his administration’s actions against Iran and announced that the $4 billion in yearly aid to Israel would stop.
“We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel. Now we’ll help Israel if they need it,” Trump said.
Trump credited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with raising the idea and tied the decision to Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan. “Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don’t need it?” Trump asked. He added that Israel could still buy American weapons.
Major questions remain. Reuters noted that the current memorandum of understanding provides $3.8 billion a year and runs until September 2028. Annual funding also depends on Congress, as Idan Kweller wrote in The Jerusalem Post. Netanyahu’s office declined to comment to NBC News, and Al Jazeera reported no confirmation from Israel’s foreign minister.
Trump spoke one week after Israel’s election last Tuesday left Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats, 8 short of a majority, according to Ynet.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
