Trump urges presidential pardon for Netanyahu during off-script moment: 'That was not in the speech'

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL: President Donald Trump called on Israel's President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his address to the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, on Monday, October 13. Netanyahu is allegedly embroiled in a corruption trial.

“This man is a good man right here. I have an idea. Mr president, why don’t you give him a pardon?” Trump said, gesturing toward Netanyahu.

The moment appeared to take both leaders and other lawmakers present at the Knesset by surprise, and it also got wide applause.

Trump requests Herzog to pardon Netanyahu

Trump acknowledged that the remark requesting Herzog to pardon Netanyahu had not been a part of his prepared text.

“That was not in the speech, as you probably know,” he said with a grin.

“But I happen to like this gentleman right over here, and it just seems to make so much sense," Trump added. 

"Whether we like it or not, this has been one of the greatest wartime presidents, and - cigars and champagnes- who the hell cares about all that?” he further said. 

Netanyahu faces alleged corruption trial

Herzog told Army Radio in September that “The Netanyahu case weighs heavily on Israeli society. If there is a request or any process, I will divulge this to the public with full transparency."

He also added, "I will consider what’s best for the state and all other considerations."

This intervention from Trump comes as Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial involving three alleged cases involving bribery, fraud, and breach of trust continues.

The charges, filed in 2019, accused him of accepting lavish gifts and seeking favorable media coverage in exchange for political favors, all of which he has denied.

His critics have also pointed out that Netanyahu has allegedly used the Gaza war to delay or deflect from his legal troubles.

Trump mentions Netanyahu calling him to seek military assistance 

Trump also touted the scale of US military assistance to Israel since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.

“We make the best weapons in the world, and we’ve given a lot to Israel,” he said.

“Bibi would call me so many times: ‘Can you get me this weapon, that weapon, that weapon?’ Some of them I never heard of, Bibi, and I made them. But we’d get them here. And you’ve used them well,” he added. 

Trump also urged Israelis to “embrace the opportunities of this moment” to ensure that “the horrors of recent years will never happen again.”

The president also said in his speech that "the long and painful nightmare is finally over."

"And as the dust settles, the smoke fades, the debris is removed and the ashes clean from the air, the day that breaks on a region transformed and a beautiful and much brighter future appears suddenly within your reach," he said.