Steve Bannon Breaks With Donald Trump on Benjamin Netanyahu Endorsement

Steve Bannon broke with Donald Trump on Monday over the president's endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On his War Room show, Bannon said he opposes sending Israel more American weapons and money, and that if the aid continues, the United States should run its own investigation of the October 7 attack.

"He endorsed wholeheartedly Netanyahu over the weekend and I take a very different take on Netanyahu," Bannon said, broadcasting from Texas. Later, introducing his guest, he called it "President Trump's really, I think, kind of over the top recommendation of Netanyahu."

The split matters because Bannon is one of the loudest voices in the MAGA movement, and it comes eight days before Israelis vote on Oct. 27.

What Donald Trump Said About Netanyahu

Trump posted the endorsement to Truth Social on Sunday, calling Netanyahu "a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran," CBS News reported. CBS noted that Trump had withheld his endorsement for months. Trump called the post his "Complete and Total Endorsement" and warned that if Israelis chose anyone else, "America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so," France 24 reported.

Eric Cortellessa, a Time senior correspondent, joined Bannon from Jerusalem. He said the endorsement could help Netanyahu and hurt him. "I do think it's cutting both ways," Cortellessa said. Israelis value a leader who gets along with the American president, he said, but "it's also a negative among a lot of right wing voters who actually are angry at Netanyahu for agreeing to the ceasefire and hostage exchange deal in October 2025."

Polls show neither Netanyahu's bloc nor that of his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, reaching the 61 seats needed to control the 120-seat Knesset, according to France 24.

Steve Bannon Opposes Israel Aid and Wants an October 7 Probe

Bannon said he opposes continuing "to give weapons and money to the Israel government, which I oppose because I think they can stand up on their own." He added a condition: "If we're going to continue to do that, we need to have a massive investigation of our own."

Bannon has pushed for an October 7 inquiry before. He cited While Israel Slept, a book by Israeli journalists Yaakov Katz and Amir Bohbot that traces the intelligence and policy failures that left Israel unprepared for the Hamas attack. Bannon recalled, without citing a source, that the United States held "five or six" investigations after Pearl Harbor while World War II was still being fought. Then he made his accusation: "the Netanyahu government has refused to allow that to happen."

Cortellessa said there is a widespread feeling in Israel that Netanyahu "has not faced the kind of reckoning that he should." "What they really want is an independent commission, similar to the Agranat Commission that was formed after the Yom Kippur War in 1973," he said. Netanyahu, he added, has blamed the military and security agencies for failing to warn him.

Under a 2016 memorandum of understanding covering fiscal years 2019 through 2028, Washington pledged Israel $38 billion in military aid, including $5 billion for missile defense, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Republican Voters Split on Israel by Age

Bannon's position matches a shift among younger Republicans. A Pew Research Center survey taken March 23–29 found that 57 percent of Republicans under 50 view Israel unfavorably, while large majorities of Republicans 50 and older view it positively. Among all Republicans and Republican leaners, 58 percent viewed Israel favorably and 41 percent unfavorably. Among all Americans, 60 percent had an unfavorable view.

Time Report on Qatari Payments to Gaza

Bannon's comments led into Cortellessa's Time exclusive, published Sunday. Using letters from senior Israeli security officials to Qatari leaders, the story reports that Netanyahu's governments encouraged Qatar's payments into Hamas-run Gaza and helped decide how the money was distributed. Time also reports that Israeli officials publicly criticized Doha for financing Hamas while privately asking Qatar to renew the payments. Cortellessa said the Israelis and Qataris presented the arrangement as a way to prevent a humanitarian collapse in Gaza.

"The Prime Minister's office declined to comment for this story," Time wrote. Netanyahu had earlier told Time that successive governments let the payments continue "to avoid humanitarian collapse."

The documents show that "it was the Israelis who were not only overseeing the program, they were the ones who were distributing the mechanism, who were in charge of the disbursements," Cortellessa said. The Qatari payments total nearly $2 billion, Ynet reported, a figure Bannon repeated on air.

What Happens Next

Cortellessa said no winner will be clear on election night. Israeli President Isaac Herzog will ask Netanyahu or Eisenkot to try to form a coalition, and either could fail.