Trump Says U.S. Will End Annual Aid to Israel by Year’s End
Trump said in a Fox News phone interview on November 3 that the United States would stop providing about $4 billion in annual aid to Israel before year’s close. Trump said he and Netanyahu had talked about the change for a couple of years and that Netanyahu had proposed it.
Trump argued that Israel no longer needs the support because it is a successful country. He also said the aid had become a political talking point for Democratic candidates, including Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Trump said Israel would still be able to buy American weapons and that the United States could help if Israel needed it.
The precise scope of the proposed cutoff was not clear from Trump’s remarks. He described the assistance as military aid, cash or goods, and said it could be defined in different ways. The existing U.S.-Israel security agreement provides about $3.8 billion in annual military assistance and is due to run through 2028. Talks on a successor arrangement have been underway.
There was no immediate public response from Netanyahu’s office. A spokesman for the Israeli leader said he did not know about Trump’s comments and would seek details. Trump did not explain how the current agreement would be ended early or provide further terms of the arrangement.
Trump Uses Israel Aid to Court Voters as U.S. Support Faces Cutoff
Trump’s announcement that the United States will end its annual aid to Israel by year’s end puts a major security commitment on the chopping block—and he made the move a campaign argument. In a November 3 Fox News interview, he said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had raised the idea, but also pointed to Democratic candidates’ criticism of the aid.
Trump said the roughly $4 billion in assistance was no longer needed by Israel and said the country could continue buying U.S. weapons. He singled out Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed as an example of Democrats using the funding as a political talking point. His remarks did not spell out what aid would end or how the change would work.
The current security agreement provides about $3.8 billion annually through 2028, and talks on a successor arrangement have been underway. Trump did not explain how his proposed year-end cutoff would affect that commitment. Netanyahu’s office had not publicly responded, while a spokesman said he did not know about the comments and would check for details.
Framing military assistance as a partisan liability does not settle the practical questions of Israel’s security needs or the future of the U.S. commitment. Trump said arms sales would continue and that the United States could help Israel if needed, leaving the scope of the promised cutoff unclear.
Trump Ends Aid Israel Says It No Longer Needs, Keeps Arms Sales
The United States should not keep sending billions in annual aid to a country President Donald Trump says no longer needs it. In a November 3 Fox News interview, Trump said the payments would stop by year’s end, describing Israel as successful and saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had raised the change.
Trump also made clear that ending aid would not mean ending arms sales: he said Israel could buy whatever it wanted and that the United States could assist if needed. He argued that the funding had become an easy target for Democratic candidates, citing Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
The existing agreement provides about $3.8 billion a year in military assistance through 2028. Trump did not specify which forms of support would end or explain how the cutoff would be carried out before the agreement expires. Talks on a replacement arrangement have been underway.
Netanyahu’s office had not publicly responded to the announcement. A spokesman said he did not know about Trump’s comments and would seek details. The administration’s next step, and the terms of any change, were not laid out in Trump’s remarks.
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