Trump says Herzog should be ‘ashamed of himself’ for not pardoning Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump says President Isaac Herzog should be ashamed of himself for not granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is standing trial for alleged fraud, bribery and breach of trust.

Asked by reporters at the White House whether Netanyahu is responsible for the security failures that allowed Hamas’s October 7 attack to unfold, Trump responds, “I guess everybody’s responsible,” before noting that it was a “sneak attack” that “nobody else would have seen coming.

He goes on to again hail Netanyahu as “a very good wartime prime minister,” touting their joint successes against Iran before turning his aim to Herzog.

“You have a president that refused to give him a pardon… [He] should be ashamed of himself,” Trump says.

“The primary power [Herzog has] got is… to give pardons, and he’s not. He said he’s given it five different times, but he doesn’t want to do it because, I guess he loses his power,” Trump says, without elaborating.

“I think the people of Israel should really shame him. He’s disgraceful for not giving it,” the US president adds.

While hosting Netanyahu in December, Trump claimed that he spoke with Herzog about the issue and that the Israeli president told him a pardon was “on its way.”

The claim was quickly denied by Herzog, who said the pair hadn’t even spoken recently and that no decision about a pardon had been made.

Herzog’s office said at the time that the Israeli president spoke several weeks earlier with “a representative on behalf of President Trump, who inquired about the US president’s letter,” referring to a November letter Trump sent to Herzog formally urging him to pardon Netanyahu.

During that conversation, “an explanation was provided regarding the stage of the process in which the request currently stands, and that any decision on the matter will be made in accordance with the established procedures,” Herzog’s office added.