‘I don’t know anything about his politics, but I think he should be popular’: Trump dodges question on Netanyahu endorsement

US President Donald Trump says he thinks Israel will withdraw from Lebanon, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the IDF will remain there until Hezbollah has been completely disarmed.

“I talked to Bibi about that. I think they’re going to. I think they want to. They’re getting along with Lebanon, they’re signing deals with Lebanon,” Trump says in response to a question from a reporter during his meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara.

Asked about Netanyahu’s claims that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expansionist ambitions, Trump responds that Erdogan hasn’t “been involved” with Syria or Israel.

“He’s left it alone. I wouldn’t say he’s a friend… of Netanyahu. They don’t get along, But for me, he’s been great… He’s been a fantastic ally,” Trump says of Erdogan before pivoting to his policies on Israel.

“No president has done as much for Israel as I have… with Jerusalem… The Golan Heights,” Trump says, touting his decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights while sitting next to Syria’s Sharaa.

Asked if the Israeli premier should be reelected, Trump again avoids a direct response, while reiterating that Netanyahu has been a “great wartime prime minister” and that Israel would not exist today if the two of them weren’t in power.

“I don’t know anything about his politics,” Trump claims. “I would think he should be popular.”

Asked how he plans to retrieve Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium if he has lost faith in negotiations with Tehran, Trump again suggests that the US doesn’t need to go in and get the material because it is buried so far underground and because no other country has the tools to get it.