Vice President JD Vance said President Donald Trump has demonstrated a willingness to break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when U.S. and Israeli interests diverge, while insisting that American Middle East policy cannot be “subservient” to Israel. Vance made the comments during an appearance Tuesday at the All-In Podcast summit, where he discussed the U.S.-Israel relationship and the administration’s approach to American foreign policy. “More than frankly any president in the last 40 years, he has shown a willingness to actually part ways with Bibi Netanyahu when he feels like the interests of the American people are different from the interests of the government of Israel,” Vance said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
Vance said Israel remains an important U.S. partner, particularly in military technology and intelligence sharing, but argued that close alliances do not require the two countries to agree on every policy. “Bibi’s a good partner, but also Bibi and I have a different opinion on this,” Vance said in describing the approach he attributed to Trump. He added that there could be instances in which Netanyahu is right from Israel’s perspective but the United States needs to pursue a different course based on American interests.
