Huckabee ‘representing the president’ in show up for Netanyahu’s trial

U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Wednesday attended a hearing in the Tel Aviv District court on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trial, saying the unusual step was a matter of representing the position of the U.S. president.

“I’m an observer, it’s an open trial. I wanted to see what was happening,” the diplomat told Israeli reporters when asked why he decided to come.

However, as Huckabee took a seat in the courtroom, the proceedings moved behind closed doors and he was required to leave the room, according to Hebrew-language outlet Ynet News.

A photo of Huckabee standing next to Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana inside the court surfaced online, in an apparent show of support for the Israeli premier.

In late June, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his call that the corruption charges against Netanyahu be dropped.

Calling the premier a “war hero” who did a “fabulous job” coordinating with the U.S. on defeating Iran’s nuclear threat, Trump then turned to the efforts to reach a hostage deal with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that it is “terrible what they are doing in Israel to Bibi Netanyahu... How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING (Cigars, Bugs Bunny Doll, etc.). It is a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure.”

The longtime Israeli leader is “right now in the process of negotiating a deal with Hamas, which will include getting the hostages back,” Trump continued, warning that this “travesty of ‘Justice’ will interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations.

“The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar[s] a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this,” he wrote. “Let Bibi go, he’s got a big job to do!”

Following his show up in court on Wednesday, Huckabee shared Trump’s message from late June on X and wrote, “I stopped by the trial of [Netanyahu] in Tel Aviv today. My conclusion? [President Trump] is right... again.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Huckabee spoke at the Muniworld 2025 Urban Innovation Conference in Tel Aviv and revealed his intention to visit the court later in the day.

“I’m going to go by today and sit through a little of [the trial]. It should be very interesting to be a witness to it,” he said in footage posted on Ynet.

Further explaining his decision to attend the trial, the ambassador said that “It’s a matter of representing what the president has said repeatedly. [Trump] has made his position very clear. He has not intervened in the proceedings or in the outcome; he recognizes that has to go its own way... But it’s a personal thing for him. He considers the prime minister a friend. I think that friendship was certainly enhanced last week by their relationship—they had an extraordinary bonding, if you will,” the diplomat continued, referring to Netanyahu’s latest trip to the White House.

He went on to say that “there’s such a partnership between the United States and Israel, it’s an important partnership. I say all the time, we have friends, we have allies, but we only have one partner, Israel. It’s a unique relationship, but it’s one that’s important not just for Israel, it’s important for the United States,” Huckabee stressed.