It seems the happy marriage between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be over, or at least headed towards a rocky phase, as Trump has announced U.S. financial aid to Israel will cease at the end of the year.
“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 also stated Israel no longer needs the assistance and can purchase its own weapons.
Trump said the support included “things and money,” 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 agreement between countries has cost American taxpayers 4 million annually, and the assistance agreement won’t end until 2028. Netanyahu is happy with how things are moving because he wanted to phase out Israel’s reliance on U.S. military aid.
“If you think we’re going to continue receiving what I secured twice, and that’s tens of billions of dollars in American aid for the defense budget, prepare yourselves and get used to the fact that it won’t happen because America has changed,” Netanyahu said in an interview with an Israeli television channel in October.
Congress passed a law in 2020 authorizing funding for Israel, but when Trump took office in 2024, he vowed to curb foreign aid and cut government spending. It’s also worth noting that Trump’s congressional power could change after the midterm elections.
“We’ve been talking about it for a couple of years because it’s a lot of money,” Trump said. “You know, somebody who wants to have a balanced budget. I’d love to be able to balance our budget.” Trump negotiated a new deal with Netanyahu, and while details of the new deal haven’t been released yet, Trump knew the original deal wouldn’t last long.
“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.” Trump said. “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.’”
