Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) raised concerns Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to end military aid to Israel could be an Election Day political ploy, saying the move gave him “heartburn.”
The revealing remarks came during CNN’s Election Day coverage when the Nebraska Republican was asked about Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would stop giving Israel roughly $4 billion in annual military aid at the end of this year.
“I surely hope this wasn’t a ploy to help, like, influence votes in, say, Michigan right now,” Bacon said.
Trump himself cited Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who has campaigned against aid to Israel, when he explained the decision on Fox News earlier in the day.
But the House Armed Services Committee member said his biggest concern was that Israel appeared to have been blindsided by the decision.
“I guess what I really had heartburn about is the Israelis didn’t know about it. It surprised them,” Bacon said. “They are our allies, and we want a strong Israel in the Middle East.”
Bacon said he wanted to hear Israel’s reaction before drawing a conclusion, but made clear he opposed how Trump handled the announcement.
“I don’t like how we just did it without notifying the Israelis first,” Bacon said, reiterating, “It surprised them.”