U.S. President Donald Trump said that President Isaac Herzog should grant a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “today,” arguing the Israeli leader should not be distracted by his ongoing corruption trial while Israel is fighting Iran.
In remarks published Thursday from a conversation with Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of Channel 12 News, Trump said Herzog should act immediately.
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President Isaac Herzog, US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“I don’t want anything distracting Bibi except the war with Iran,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname, according to quotes published in Hebrew.
Trump also sharply criticized Herzog, calling him “disgraceful,” and claimed Herzog had repeatedly promised him that he would pardon Netanyahu. “He promised me five times he would give Bibi a pardon,” Trump said. “Tell him I’m exposing him.”
Trump said he has been discussing the possibility of a pardon with Herzog for about a year and claimed he warned the Israeli president that he would refuse to meet him if the issue was not resolved. “He’s been holding it over Bibi’s head for a year,” Trump said.
Under Israeli law, the president has the authority to grant pardons.
Netanyahu formally submitted a request for a presidential pardon on Nov. 30 as he continues to stand trial on corruption charges he denies.
US President Donald Trump asks President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his Knesset address, October 2025
(Video: Knesset Channel)
About a month before that request was filed, Trump publicly called for Netanyahu to receive a pardon during a visit to Israel, making the appeal in a speech before the full Knesset.
Trump’s latest remarks follow a similar attack last month, when he said Herzog “should be ashamed of himself” for refusing to grant Netanyahu a pardon.
Speaking a day after meeting Netanyahu, Trump praised the Israeli leader’s conduct during the war. “Bibi's been a great wartime prime minister,” Trump said at the time. “He was very strong and we worked with him very well. We had tremendous successes against Iran and everything else we did, and he was really outstanding as a wartime prime minister — and that’s not an easy job.”