President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. aid to Israel would end at the close of the year, arguing that the country no longer needs the assistance and can purchase its own weapons.
“We were giving them $4 billion – we are – but it gets cut off at the end of the year,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday in an Election Day morning announcement.
Trump acknowledged the political nature of the news, pointing to Michigan’s battleground Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers.
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“Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don’t need it?” Trump said.
The support included “things and money,” according to Trump, calling it military aid, cash or “barter.” He said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed ending the assistance for years, adding that Netanyahu raised the idea.
“They don’t need it,” Trump said. “Israel’s our number one. We give them more than anybody else, and they no longer need it.”
“Israel is a very thriving country,” he added.
The current U.S.-Israel security assistance agreement provides about $3.8 billion annually through 2028. Netanyahu has previously said he wants to phase out Israel’s reliance on U.S. military aid, though the timing and terms of any change to the agreement have not been detailed.
Trump said the assistance had become a political target, adding that Netanyahu understood “this is one of their points of contention.”
Trump added the $4 billion referred to military hardware or cash.
“I’m going to put it in any way you want to define it,” Trump said. “You can consider it barter. You can consider military aid or cash. It’s what we give them — $4 billion of things and money, and they don’t need it.”
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Trump negotiated the new deal with Netanyahu, who is also facing a difficult election season with his future still up on the air as the balance of power in the Knesset tries to settle on a coalition government amid multifront wars with terrorists and Iran.
“I was approached by Bibi Netanyahu, and we’ve been talking about it for a couple of years because it’s a lot of money,” he said. “He brought it up. He said, ‘I think it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid.’”
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Israel can still buy U.S. weapons, Trump stressed.
“They can buy whatever they want,” he said.
Trump pointed to his administration’s 2024 campaign vows to curb free foreign aid and cut government spending, just hours before the balance of congressional power will be determined for his final two years in office.
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“We’ve been talking about it for a couple of years because it’s a lot of money,” Trump said. “You know, somebody that wants to have a balanced budget. I’d love to be able to balance our budget. And I think I could do it if we could.
“If we had a fed that got interest rates down,” he added, “we would have a balanced budget quickly. It’s a shame the interest rates. We have a fed that’s, you know, populated by Obama and Biden people and they don’t want to do the right thing.”
