Vance Says He Won't Get Involved in Israel's Election

U.S. Vice President JD Vance declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's election on October 27, 2026.

Vance made the remarks during an interview on Monday with journalist Mark Halperin on the show "2WAY Tonight," according to NBC News and Al Jazeera.

"I’m not anti-endorsing him. I’m not pro-endorsing him. I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections," Vance said. He added that he endorses American candidates and is focused on the U.S. midterms.

The comments came one day after President Donald Trump explicitly endorsed Netanyahu, according to Al Jazeera.

Opinion polls cited ahead of the vote showed the Yashar party leading Netanyahu's Likud party. Yashar is led by former Israeli military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, who said he will seek to build an opposition bloc to form a government.

Vance has previously spoken sharply about Israeli policy. In June 2026, amid Israeli opposition to an Iran ceasefire plan, a proposal to stop fighting, he told Israel, "You can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have." He also warned Netanyahu's cabinet against alienating Trump, calling Trump "the only powerful ally" Israel has left.

Vance has weighed in on elections elsewhere. In April 2026, he backed Hungary's Viktor Orban, who lost to Peter Magyar.