President Donald Trump offered a lighthearted backup plan on Tuesday, suggesting that if Americans ever grow tired of him, he could simply pack up, head overseas and lead the Jewish state.
The president made the remark during an Election Day appearance on Fox News, as voters across the country cast ballots in the 2026 midterm elections. Speaking about America’s relationship with one of its closest allies, Trump said that if people in the U.S. ever got tired of him, he would “move to Israel, become prime minister.”
The comment was tied to what the president described as his extraordinary popularity among Israelis. Trump claimed he enjoys a 99% approval rating in Israel and went further, insisting that his standing there is the highest of anyone in history. He did not point to a specific poll to support the figure.
The numbers at home tell a different story. One recent tally cited in coverage of the remarks put the president’s domestic approval rating at 32%, a sharp contrast to the near-unanimous support he says he commands in Israel.
Trump’s quip came as he praised Israel as a great partner of the United States and highlighted his administration’s actions against Iran, a centerpiece of his foreign policy agenda this year.
During the same appearance, the president also made news on the financial side of the alliance. He announced that the United States will stop providing Israel with $4 billion in annual aid beginning in 2027, a significant shift in a relationship that has long included large-scale American military assistance.
This is not the first time the president has floated the idea of leading Israel. In May, while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews ahead of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduation, Trump joked that he was polling at 99% in Israel and could run for prime minister there after his time in the White House. Those remarks came as he fielded questions about his conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Iran.
The joke has deep roots. Back in 2019, Axios reported that Trump told top Republican donors he would win 98% of the vote if he ran for prime minister of Israel, pointing to his popularity in the country after a series of pro-Israel moves during his first term.
Tuesday’s comments also arrive just days after Israel held its own national elections on Oct. 27. In the lead-up to that vote, Trump repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether he would endorse Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, while still taking the opportunity to tout his own record on Israel.
The president’s affection for the country has rarely been in doubt. He has long counted Netanyahu as an ally, and his administration’s posture toward Iran has kept the two nations closely aligned throughout the year.
For now, the prime minister talk appears to be all in good fun. But with Americans heading to the polls on Tuesday, the president made clear that if the welcome mat at home ever wears thin, he believes he already has another job waiting for him halfway around the world.
