Trump Jokes He Could Replace Netanyahu as Israeli Prime Minister if Americans Tire of Him

Donald Trump joked that he would move to Israel and become its prime minister if Americans grew tired of him during a telephone interview in which he claimed to have a 99% approval rating in the country. The US president made the remark while discussing US military assistance to Israel and his standing among Israelis.

'In fact, if people ever got tired of me in the U.S., I'll move to Israel and become prime minister,' Trump said on 3 November 2026, US midterm Election Day. He did not identify a poll supporting the approval figure.

Trump Claims 99% Approval in Israel

The suggestion referred to the position held by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although Trump did not mention him by name. His comment imagined an alternative political future if Americans rejected him, rather than announcing an intention to enter Israeli politics.

The exchange came during a telephone appearance on Fox News's Fox & Friends, and the broadcaster subsequently published an 18-second excerpt describing the remark as a joke about his approval rating.

Pew Poll Measures Confidence

Independent polling provides context for Trump's standing in Israel without measuring support for him to become its leader. A Pew Research Center report published on 23 June 2026 found that 66% of Israeli respondents had confidence in him to do the right thing regarding world affairs.

The question concerned confidence in his international leadership, not his overall presidential approval rating or support for an Israeli candidacy. It therefore cannot validate or directly disprove his claimed 99% approval, which remains unsubstantiated by an identified survey.

Pew did not ask Israeli respondents about confidence in Netanyahu in that particular comparison. Its findings consequently do not establish a preference between the two men or indicate whom respondents would want as prime minister.

Jewish and Arab Israelis Differ

A Pew report published on 15 September highlighted a substantial demographic divide, with 79% of Jewish Israelis expressing confidence in Trump on world affairs, compared with 13% of Arab Israelis. The Israeli survey involved 1,001 adults interviewed in Hebrew and Arabic between 5 April and 6 May 2026.

The September report primarily examined attitudes towards US military assistance to Israel and humanitarian aid to Gaza, while also presenting confidence levels in Trump. Those figures came from interviews conducted in the spring, not a new measurement in September or a response to his subsequent joke.

Israeli Law Sets Leadership Rules

Becoming Israel's prime minister would require more than moving there, starting with eligibility for election to the Knesset, the country's parliament. Under Basic Law: The Knesset, candidates must be Israeli citizens aged at least 21, subject to specified restrictions and disqualifications.

Residence alone would not satisfy the citizenship requirement, and candidate lists must be submitted by political parties. These are general legal conditions, not a determination of Trump's individual eligibility.

Section 16A also addresses elected members who hold another nationality where the other country permits release from its citizenship. They must do everything required on their part to obtain that release before making their declaration of allegiance and exercising parliamentary membership rights.

Basic Law: The Government requires the prime minister to be a Knesset member and the government to hold parliament's confidence. Trump outlined no steps towards meeting those requirements, offering a hypothetical response to losing support at home rather than a programme to replace Netanyahu.