Fox Hosts Target Vance Over One Election Comment
Vice President JD Vance drew criticism after saying he would not endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection. In a Monday interview with Mark Halperin, Vance said, “I’m not anti-endorsing. I’m not pro-endorsing. I’m not getting involved in the Israeli elections.” He added that his attention was on the U.S. midterms. On Tuesday’s Fox & Friends, Brian Kilmeade and Lawrence Jones treated that decision as evidence of an apparent “anti-Israel” streak. Co-host Ashley Earnhardt agreed. Kilmeade said Vance went out of his way to say he was staying out of it, then said “the wrap on him” was that he seemed a little anti-Israel. So, under this line of criticism, declining to endorse a foreign leader became enough for a loyalty examination. Cable news has never met a simple sentence it could not turn into a panel discussion.
Hosts Call the Decision an “Unforced Error”
Jones called the decision an “unforced error” and said there was no reason for Vance to make the statement. Kilmeade then pointed to Vance’s campaign appearance for Viktor Orban in Hungary. He argued Vance could not say he did not worry about other people’s elections after campaigning for Orban, who lost. Earnhardt called that a good point, and Jones labeled Vance disappointing. The exchange focused on a perceived inconsistency: Vance said he would stay out of Israeli elections, while the hosts cited his campaign for Orban as evidence that he has not always followed that rule. The criticism was sharp, but Vance’s quoted position remained narrow: he was declining to take a position in the Israeli contest while concentrating on American midterms.
Trump’s Endorsement Did Not End the Tensions
Trump’s position adds a second layer to the dispute. He endorsed Netanyahu less than two weeks before the October 27 election, after apparently avoiding a public endorsement amid tensions connected to the Iran war. The story also recalls several public disagreements between the two men. In July, Trump said, “Nobody tells me what we should be selling or not,” after Netanyahu opposed selling F-35s to Turkey. Trump also said Netanyahu “knows who the boss is” ahead of a White House meeting. In June, at the G7 Summit in Evian, France, Trump criticized Israeli attacks in Lebanon and warned that apartment buildings should not be knocked down simply to find someone because residents were not all Hezbollah. “Bibi has to be more responsible,” he said. Days earlier, Trump said he was “so pissed off” over the strikes and said Netanyahu had “no f*cking judgment.” Reports also described a heated June phone call in which Trump reportedly called Netanyahu “f*cking crazy,” accused him of ingratitude, and referenced helping keep him out of jail during his corruption trial.
Vance’s Position Becomes a Foreign Policy Loyalty Test
That context makes the dispute more complicated than a simple endorsement test. In the statement quoted here, Vance did not say he opposed Israel or Netanyahu; he said he would not get involved in Israeli elections. Fox hosts treated that refusal as an “anti-Israel” signal, while Trump himself has publicly disagreed with Netanyahu on military and diplomatic matters even while endorsing him. The exchange shows how quickly a foreign policy question can become a loyalty test. Vance offered a boundary and a focus on the U.S. midterms. Apparently, staying in your lane is acceptable only when the television panel approves the lane.
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