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Sunday, May 10, 2026
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Trump Tells Netanyahu to Pound Sand on Turkey F-35 Deal: 'Nobody Tells Me What We Should Be Selling'

Aboard Air Force One this weekend, President Trump was asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand that the United States cancel its planned sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. His response was nine words long.

"Nobody tells me what we should be selling."

The exchange came after Netanyahu publicly pressured Washington to scrap the deal, arguing the transfer would upset the regional power balance and pose security threats to Israel. Trump wasn't interested in the argument. "Turkey is a great ally," Trump said. "I think he's done a very good job, did a good job with Syria. He's a friend of mine."

For years, critics on both the left and the populist right have pushed a narrative that Trump is functionally "owned" by Israel — that he'd never push back on Netanyahu, that the relationship is one of obedience rather than alliance. This moment blows a rather large hole in that theory.

Turkey, a NATO member, has been a strategic partner in the region for decades. The F-35 sale has been a point of contention going back to Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, which got them booted from the F-35 program under a previous arrangement. Trump's willingness to revisit that decision — and to do so while publicly brushing off Israeli objections — signals that the transaction is being evaluated on American strategic interests, not anyone else's preferences.

Netanyahu's concern isn't irrational. Israel maintains a policy known as Qualitative Military Edge — the principle that its military technology should exceed that of any regional rival. An F-35-equipped Turkey complicates that math. But Trump's position is equally clear: the United States decides what the United States sells.

Some in the foreign policy establishment will frame this as reckless. They'll argue that dismissing an ally's security concerns undermines the relationship. But that framing assumes the relationship should operate as a veto arrangement — that Israel gets sign-off authority on American defense contracts with third parties. Trump clearly disagrees.

What makes this exchange worth watching isn't the policy itself. It's the precedent. American presidents have quietly deferred to Israeli preferences on Middle East arms deals for decades — not because they were required to, but because the political cost of saying no was considered too high. Trump just said no on camera, from Air Force One, and moved on to the next question like it was no big deal. He didn't realize how historic his comments on Israel were.

The F-35 is the most advanced fighter jet in the world. Deciding who gets to buy one is, by definition, a sovereign decision. Allies get to lobby. They don't get to decide.

That used to be obvious. Apparently it needed to be said out loud.

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