Trump Advisers Joked About Asylum in Israel Before Midterm Loss
The New York Times reported on a private call where strategists discussed electoral defeat.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
“At least Bibi won. He’ll protect us,” said James Blair, who had left the White House to oversee Trump’s midterm strategy. / Reuters
Photograph: TRT World (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Senior advisers to Donald Trump discussed seeking asylum in Israel during a private meeting six days before the midterm elections, according to The New York Times.
- The jokes occurred as Republicans faced potential electoral defeat, with one adviser stating, 'At least Bibi won. He’ll protect us,' referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Trump's chief pollster, Tony Fabrizio, reportedly responded to the sentiment with, 'Maybe we could get asylum in Israel.'
- The war with Iran and rising petrol prices were cited as factors contributing to the Republican defeat.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 4 of the 10 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
70/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
10 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Senior advisers to former US President Donald Trump joked about seeking asylum in Israel during a private meeting held six days before the midterm elections, The New York Times reported. The discussion took place a day after Israel's election, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc did not secure a parliamentary majority. During the call, strategists expressed concerns about the party's electoral prospects, with some engaging in dark humour about potential outcomes.
James Blair, who had overseen Trump's midterm strategy, was quoted as saying, 'At least Bibi won. He’ll protect us,' a comment the newspaper described as sarcastic. Trump's chief pollster, Tony Fabrizio, reportedly replied, 'Maybe we could get asylum in Israel.' The call included discussions of possible electoral scenarios, one of which projected a significant Republican defeat. These concerns materialised when Democrats gained control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The war with Iran was cited as a factor eroding Republican support, particularly as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed US petrol prices above $4 per gallon. An internal presentation suggested that Democratic support increased during active hostilities with Iran. Republican polling two weeks before the election indicated that voters not planning to back the party cited ending the war and tackling inflation as their primary concerns. The New York Times also pointed to Trump's trade policies and his administration's handling of the economy as contributing to the Republican defeat.
Disagreement on Netanyahu's election outcome
The New York Times reported that the call took place a day after Israel's election, in which Netanyahu's bloc failed to secure a parliamentary majority. Anadolu Ajansı and TRT World also stated that Netanyahu's bloc failed to secure a majority. Berlingske.dk, however, stated that Trump was 'speechless with rage' as the disaster dawned, and his people talked about seeking asylum in Israel, without mentioning Netanyahu's election outcome.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports below mention the specific details of the internal presentation circulated among White House officials over the summer regarding Democratic support during active hostilities or diplomatic negotiations with Iran. Similarly, none of the right-rated reports mention the specific polling data from two weeks before the election that indicated voters' top concerns were ending the war and tackling inflation.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 6 times, most recently on 5 Nov 2026, 21:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Trump Advisers Joked About Asylum in Israel Before Midterm Loss
Anadolu Ajansı — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- TRT World led with the report that senior advisers to US President Donald Trump joked about seeking asylum in Israel days before the midterm elections. The report detailed the private video call where strategists discussed electoral defeat and included the exchange between James Blair and Tony Fabrizio. It also noted that the war with Iran and rising petrol prices contributed to the Republican defeat, and that Democrats focused on household costs and accused the administration of favouring the wealthy.
Right
5 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports focused on the joke about seeking asylum in Israel made by Trump's advisers. Headlines from Anadolu Ajansı, World Israel News, i24NEWS, and Israel Hayom highlighted this aspect. Anadolu Ajansı and TRT World (rated centre) also mentioned the war with Iran and economic concerns as contributing factors to the defeat. Israel Hayom's digest mentioned that interviews with more than 70 people traced the Republican midterm collapse to an unpopular Iran war, rising gas prices, and costly candidate choices.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump Advisers Joked About Asylum in Israel Before Midterm Loss?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 17% are rated centre, 83% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 10. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump Advisers Joked About Asylum in Israel Before Midterm Loss left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump Advisers Joked About Asylum in Israel Before Midterm Loss biased?
- Trump Advisers Joked About Asylum in Israel Before Midterm Loss is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump Advisers Joked About Asylum in Israel Before Midterm Loss?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump Advisers Joked About Asylum in Israel Before Midterm Loss?
- 10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Trump's advisers joke about before the midterm elections?
- According to The New York Times, senior advisers to Donald Trump joked about seeking asylum in Israel during a private meeting. They also discussed funeral arrangements and prison food as the party faced potential electoral defeat.
- Who was involved in the conversation about seeking asylum?
- James Blair, who oversaw Trump's midterm strategy, reportedly said, 'At least Bibi won. He’ll protect us.' Trump's chief pollster, Tony Fabrizio, is quoted as responding, 'Maybe we could get asylum in Israel.'
- What factors contributed to the Republican defeat in the midterms?
- The New York Times cited the war with Iran and rising petrol prices as factors eroding Republican support. Trump's trade policies and his administration's handling of the economy were also mentioned as contributing to the defeat.
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
1Right
5- Trump Was “Speechless with Rage” as the Disaster Dawned. His People Talk About Taking Cyanide and Seeking Asylum in Israel (opens berlingske.dk in a new tab)
berlingske.dk — is berlingske.dk biased? Our profile of this outlet
- 'Bibi will save us' - Trump aides joke about seeking asylum in Israel after midterms (opens WIN in a new tab)
- ‘Maybe we could get asylum in Israel,’ Trump strategists joke about fleeing country before midterms (opens i24NEWS in a new tab)
- Trump aides joked about pardons ahead of midterm wipeout (opens Israel Hayom in a new tab)
Israel Hayom — is Israel Hayom biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Advisors Joked About Seeking Asylum in Israel Ahead of Midterm Defeat: Report (opens Anadolu Ajansı in a new tab)
Anadolu Ajansı — is Anadolu Ajansı biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
4- Trump Team Revealed Netanyahu Dialogue 6 Days Before Election: 'Maybe We'll Get Asylum From Israel' (opens anlatilaninotesi.com.tr in a new tab)
anlatilaninotesi.com.tr — is anlatilaninotesi.com.tr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- They Joked Before the US Election: If We Lose, We'll Take Refuge in Israel. (opens Akşam in a new tab)
- NYT: Trump's Advisors Joked About "Seeking Asylum in Israel" Before the US Midterm Elections (opens Habertürk in a new tab)
- Trump's Advisors Discussed Seeking Refuge in Israel! The Secret Meeting Has Been Revealed. (opens turkiyegazetesi.com.tr in a new tab)
turkiyegazetesi.com.tr — is turkiyegazetesi.com.tr biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

