Trump
calls Israel’s president ‘disgraceful’ for not pardoning Netanyahu
The US
president tells reporters that Isaac Herzog should be ‘ashamed’ for not
pardoning Netanyahu’s bribery charges.
By Al
Jazeera Staff
Published
On 12 Feb 2026
12 Feb
2026
Donald
Trump has upped his pressure against Israel’s President Isaac Herzog as he
seeks a pardon for his ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing
bribery charges.
The
United States president told reporters on Thursday that the Israeli prime
minister has been an “extraordinary” wartime leader. He then condemned Herzog
for failing to offer Netanyahu presidential clemency.
“You have
a president that refuses to give him a pardon. I think that man should be
ashamed of himself,” Trump said of Herzog.
He added
that Israelis should pressure Herzog to grant the pardon to Netanyahu.
“He’s
disgraceful for not giving it. He should give it,” Trump said.
The
comments come a day after Trump hosted Netanyahu at the White House — their
seventh meeting since the US president returned to power last year.
Netanyahu
has been accused of receiving lavish gifts as bribes and considering deals with
media outlets in exchange for favourable coverage of his government.
His first
trial started in 2020, but the legal proceedings have been repeatedly disrupted
by the geopolitical upheaval in the region, including Israel’s genocidal war in
Gaza.
The US
has previously called on Herzog — whose role is largely ceremonial — to grant
amnesty to Netanuahu, a power allocated to Israel’s presidents.
But with
Thursday’s rebuke, Trump appears to be asserting himself directly in the
country’s domestic politics.
The push
for pardoning Netanyahu highlights the exceptional ties between Trump and
Netanyahu, two right-wing politicians who have demonstrated a remarkable
ability to survive scandals and legal problems.
Trump has
previously petitioned Herzog for a pardon in public, most notably from behind
the lectern of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, last October.
“I have
an idea: Mr President, why don’t you give him a pardon?” Trump asked during his
speech.
He also
appeared to make light of the bribery charges, referencing at one point the
luxury goods Netanyahu allegedly received. “Cigars and champagne — who the hell
cares about it?” Trump asked.
Herzog
has previously said that any pardon request must follow the normal reviews and
procedures under the country’s laws.
His
office reiterated that message in response to Trump on Thursday, saying that
Netanyahu’s pardon request “currently under review at the Justice Ministry for
a legal opinion in accordance with the established procedures”.
“President
Herzog values President Trump for his significant contribution to the State of
Israel and its security. Israel is a sovereign state governed by the rule of
law,” the Israeli presidency said in a statement, according to the Jerusalem
Post newspaper.
In
addition to his domestic legal woes, Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant from the
International Criminal Court over war crime charges in Gaza, including the use
of starvation as a weapon of war.
Herzog, a
veteran politician who rose through the centre-left Labour party, is often
portrayed in Western media as a less hawkish figure than Netanyahu.
But the
Israeli president has also served as an uncompromising defender of Israel’s
brutal assault on Gaza.
Early in
the war, he suggested that all Palestinians must be punished for Hamas’s attack
on October 7, 2023, against Israel.
“It is an
entire nation out there that is responsible,” Herzog said at that time. “This
rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved — it’s absolutely not true.
They could’ve risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime.”
His
statement has been cited by leading rights groups and United Nations
investigators as evidence of Israel’s genocidal intent in Gaza.
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