Donald Trump has called for the immediate cancellation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, describing it as a “witch hunt” against a “hero” leader.
“This kind of witch hunt, against a man who has given so much, is unthinkable to me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. “He deserves much better- and so does the State of Israel. The trial of Bibi Netanyahu must be CANCELLED IMMEDIATELY.”
If not, Trump argued, Netanyahu should be granted a pardon, calling him a “great hero who has done so much for his country.”
The former US president also referred to the twelve-day war between Israel and Iran, during which the US intervened militarily in support of its ally by bombing three key nuclear facilities in Iran. Trump claimed it was his own declaration- or rather imposition- of a ceasefire that ended the conflict.
Trump praised Netanyahu as a “WARRIOR”- the word typed in capital letters- and asserted that there may never have been another like him in Israel’s history. He credited Netanyahu with achieving the “complete elimination” of Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, despite Tehran’s repeated denials that such a programme ever existed.
“I don’t know anyone else who could have worked more harmoniously with the president of the United States- ME- than Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump added. “It was the United States that saved Israel, and now it will be the United States that saves Bibi Netanyahu.”
He concluded with another all-caps outburst: “THIS MOCKERY OF ‘JUSTICE’ MUST NOT BE ALLOWED.”
Benjamin Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to face a criminal trial. He is charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. The trial began in May 2020 but was suspended due to the outbreak of war in Gaza.
His legal team has repeatedly requested delays, citing national security responsibilities following Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
Trump himself was convicted in May 2024 in a criminal trial concerning hush money paid to an adult film actress, becoming the first former and sitting presidential candidate to be criminally convicted. He has framed the verdict, like others before it, as a “witch hunt” orchestrated by political opponents.
Also read: Israel–Iran tensions: what you need to know
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