Herzog Responds, ‘I Am President of Israel’ After President Trump Calls Him ‘Disgraceful’ for Not Yet Giving Netanyahu Pardon
Israeli President Isaac Herzog rejected pressure from US President Donald Trump to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the matter remains under legal review and will be decided only in accordance with Israeli law.
Herzog’s response came after President Trump accused him of acting irresponsibly by not intervening in Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, President Trump said Herzog should feel public pressure for declining to grant a pardon. “You have a president who refused to give him a pardon,” he said. “He should be ashamed of himself,” adding that the Israeli president was deliberately withholding his authority.
“I think the people of Israel should really shame him. He’s disgraceful for not giving it,” he added.
The remarks reached Herzog while he was returning to Israel from Australia following a four-day visit. In a written statement issued from the plane, the President’s Residence said the prime minister’s pardon request is currently with the Justice Ministry for a legal opinion and that Herzog will consider it only after that process is complete.
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“Only after the process is concluded will the president examine the request in accordance with the law, the good of the state, and his conscience — and without any influence from external or internal pressures of any kind,” the statement said. It added that Herzog “appreciates President Trump for his significant contribution to the State of Israel and its security,” while stressing that Israel is “a sovereign state governed by the rule of law.”
Asked by a reporter traveling with him for his personal reaction, Herzog said: “To the best of my recollection, I am the president of Israel.”
President Trump was also questioned about Netanyahu’s role in the security failures surrounding Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. He said responsibility could not be placed on a single individual. “I guess everybody’s responsible,” he said, adding that it was a “sneak attack” that “nobody else would have seen coming.”
He repeatedly praised Netanyahu’s leadership during the war, calling him “a very good wartime prime minister,” and argued that continued prosecution was inappropriate while Israel remains at war.
President Trump has raised the issue of a potential pardon on multiple occasions, including during a December meeting with Netanyahu, when he publicly questioned why a pardon had not been issued and later claimed Herzog had indicated one was imminent. Herzog later denied that account.
Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing in the trial, which centers on allegations of fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
