Kathrine Frich
The move marks a noticeable split at the top of the administration.
Stepping onto the global stage is always a delicate balancing act for top officials.
When foreign allies face voters at home, backing a favorite can quickly backfire if the ballot goes the wrong way.
Now, one senior Washington figure is choosing to stay on the sidelines.
Breaking with the boss
On Monday, Vice President JD Vance parted ways with President Donald Trump by refusing to back Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his re-election campaign.
The move marks a noticeable split at the top of the administration over how to handle a close foreign ally’s political race.
During a sit-down interview with journalist Mark Halperin, the vice president explained that his attention remains squarely on domestic races right now.
“I endorse American candidates and that’s where I’m focused on, is the midterms, so I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections,” Vance told Halperin.
Rather than picking a favorite in the contest, he tried to strike a strictly neutral tone on the Israeli leader’s political future.
“I’m not anti-endorsing him, I’m not pro-endorsing him, I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections,” he added during the interview.
A painful lesson abroad
That new rule about sticking only to American candidates marks a sharp turn from the vice president’s own recent travel schedule.
Earlier this year, Vance jumped directly into a foreign campaign when he flew to Budapest to support former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to reports on his Monday interview.
His high-profile trip to the Hungarian capital did not deliver the result he wanted at the ballot box. Soon after receiving the vice president’s backing, the veteran Hungarian leader suffered a landslide defeat in his election race.
Now, with American midterm contests approaching fast and that heavy loss in Hungary fresh in memory, Vance is keeping his distance from the Israeli vote.
Even as Trump takes a different path on Netanyahu, his second-in-command is making it clear that he will sit this foreign race out.
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