President Trump announced Tuesday morning that the United States will stop sending $4 billion in annual aid to Israel at the end of the year, saying the country is thriving and doesn’t need American handouts anymore. He made the announcement during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Election Day, which is exactly the kind of timing that tends to make Democrats choke on their morning coffee.
“We were giving them $4 billion, we are, but it gets cut off at the end of the year,” Trump said. He described the aid as covering military hardware, cash, or what he called “barter,” adding that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been discussing ending the arrangement for a couple of years. And here’s the kicker: Netanyahu brought it up himself. He said, ‘I think it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid,'” Trump recalled. That’s right, Israel asked to stop taking the money. Try explaining that one at a Democratic fundraiser.
Trump also made clear this decision has a domestic political angle, pointing directly at the Michigan Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. “Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don’t need it?” Trump said. “It’s a bad talking point.” In other words, why hand the left a political weapon when the whole premise of needing it is gone? That’s called common sense, and Washington hasn’t seen a lot of it lately. You can read more about Trump ending U.S. aid to Israel straight from the source.
Netanyahu himself had signaled this was coming. In an October interview with an Israeli television channel, he said, “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.” The current U.S.-Israel security assistance agreement provides about $3.8 billion annually through 2028, but Trump made clear that arrangement is winding down on his watch.
Israel isn’t getting cut off from American defense hardware entirely. Trump stressed that Israel can still purchase U.S. weapons on its own dime. “They can buy whatever they want,” he said. “Israel is a very thriving country.” So the shelves are still open, just no more tab running at the taxpayer’s expense.
Trump also tied the move to his long-standing goal of balancing the federal budget, calling out the Federal Reserve along the way. “We have a fed that’s populated by Obama and Biden people, and they don’t want to do the right thing,” he said. There it is. Even a foreign aid announcement somehow traces back to the damage the last two Democratic administrations left behind.
Congress still has to pass appropriations bills each year to actually release the funds, so lawmakers will have a say in how this plays out. But with Trump driving the deal and Netanyahu on board, Democrats who wanted to use Israel aid as a campaign club just lost their bat.
