President Trump joked in an Election Day interview that he would move to Israel and become prime minister if Americans ever grew tired of him.
Tuesday’s midterms ended in historic upsets for the GOP, with a wave of Democrats winning seats in states and districts once considered Republican strongholds.
“In fact, if people ever got tired of me in the U.S., I’ll move to Israel, become prime minister,” Mr. Trump said during a phone call with “Fox & Friends.”
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Heading into an Election Day loss for his party, Mr. Trump was optimistic, saying he holds a 99% approval rating in Israel, describing it as “the highest approval rating of anybody in history.”
He provided no polling data to back up the figure.
The president’s overall job approval rating hovers between 32% and 38%, among the lowest during his time in office, down from the 2018 midterms.
He made a similar quip back in May, touting near-unanimous support from Israeli citizens.
“I’m right now at 99% in Israel. I could run for prime minister, so maybe after I do this, I’ll go to Israel and run for prime minister,” he told reporters at the time.
“I had a poll this morning. I’m 99%,” he added.
His joke about running for office in the Middle East came as he announced that the U.S. will cut off its roughly $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of 2026.
The $3.8 billion memorandum of understanding does not expire until September 2028, and Mr. Trump gave no details on how funding would stop at the end of this year.
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