White House: Trump ‘simply emphasizing his empathy’ for Netanyahu by demanding trial end

US President Donald Trump said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial “interferes” with both Iran and Gaza negotiations because it requires the Israeli premier to appear in court “when he’s in the middle of negotiating a peace deal and bringing hostages out of a war torn region,” explains White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

However, Netanyahu’s court appearances have not been known to interfere with the hostage talks. The premier led a ministerial consult on the matter last night that ended with no decision.

But Trump has twice weighed in on the matter in Truth Social posts over the past week, demanding that Netanyahu’s criminal corruption trial be cancelled.

Asked to elaborate on Trump’s posts, Leavitt says the president “was simply emphasizing his empathy that he has for Bibi Netanyahu, seeing him go through what he’s going through with his own judicial system in the State of Israel.”

“Clearly, the president knows that very well. He too was a victim of a judicial system that was trying to put him in jail, but President Trump prevailed,” she continues, hailing Netanyahu for his cooperation with the US against Iran.