President Donald Trump joked about his high approval rating in Israel on Wednesday, suggesting that he might run to be its prime minister after his White House term concludes.
Trump was asked what he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about holding off on striking Iran while the United States is involved in ceasefire negotiations.
“He’s fine. He’ll do whatever I want him to do. He’s a very good man,” Trump said of his Israeli counterpart. “Don’t forget, he was a wartime prime minister, and he’s not treated right in Israel, in my opinion.”
Trump proceeded to claim he has near-unanimous support from Israeli citizens before recycling a joke he’s previously made about Venezuela.
“I’m right now at 99% in Israel. I could run for prime minister, so maybe after I do this, I’ll go to Israel and run for prime minister,” he told reporters. “I had a poll this morning. I’m 99%,” he added, without citing the supposed poll he was referring to. According to a February poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute Israeli Society Index, 73% of Israelis rate Trump as a better-than-average U.S. president for Israel’s interests.
The president made a similar comment early last month while discussing interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez’s cooperation with the Trump administration.
“The people of Venezuela, they say, if I ran for president of Venezuela, I’m polling higher than anybody has ever polled in Venezuela, so after I’m finished with this, I can go to Venezuela,” he said at the time. “I will quickly learn Spanish. It won’t take too long. I’m good at language, and I will go to Venezuela. I’m going to run for president. But we’re very happy with the president-elect that we have right now.”
TRUMP SAYS HE HAS PERSONALLY DONATED TO HELP CONSTRUCTION OF WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM
Trump’s joke about running for Israeli prime minister came amid criticism from allies of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). Massie, who lost a primary to Trump-backed Ed Gallrein on Tuesday, has framed his defeat as the result of opposing the Iran war. Specifically, the Kentucky Republican took a shot in his concession speech at the deluge of money spent against him by Trump allies and pro-Israel groups.
“I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede, and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv,” Massie told the crowd at his concession party.
![Enjoy the [Road] Show Travel Mug with Handle, 14ozEnjoy the [Road] Show Travel Mug with Handle, 14oz](https://georgemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/479070202831754764_2048-300x300.jpeg)
Discount Applied Successfully!
Your savings have been added to the cart.