Donald Trump has upped his pressure against Israel’s President Isaac Herzog as he seeks a pardon for his ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing bribery charges.

The United States president told reporters on Thursday that the Israeli prime minister has been an “extraordinary” wartime leader. He then condemned Herzog for failing to offer Netanyahu presidential clemency.

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“You have a president that refuses to give him a pardon. I think that man should be ashamed of himself,” Trump said of Herzog.

He added that Israelis should pressure Herzog to grant the pardon to Netanyahu.

“He’s disgraceful for not giving it. He should give it,” Trump said.

Trump’s comments come a day after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House – the two leaders’ seventh meeting since the US president returned to power last year.

The accusations against Netanyahu include receiving lavish gifts as bribes and discussing deals with the owners of media outlets for favourable coverage of his government.

His first trial started in 2020 but the legal proceedings have been repeatedly disrupted by the geopolitical upheaval in the region, including Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

The US has previously called on Herzog – whose role is largely ceremonial but gives him pardoning powers – to grant amnesty to Netanuahu.

But with Thursday’s rebuke of the Israeli president, Trump appears to be asserting himself directly in the country’s domestic politics.

The push for pardoning Netanyahu highlight the exceptional ties between Trump and Netanyahu – two right-wing politicians who have demonstrated a remarkable ability to survive scandals and legal problems.

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“I have an idea: Mr president, why don’t you give him a pardon?” Trump said during a speech to the Israeli parliament in October of last year. “Cigars and champagne – who the hell cares about it?”

Herzog has previously said that any pardon request must follow the normal reviews and procedures under the country’s laws.

Additionally to his domestic legal woes, Netanyahu is facing an arrest warrant at the International Criminal Court over war crime charges in Gaza, including using starvation as a weapon of war.

Herzog, a veteran politician who rose through the centre-left liberal party, is often portrayed in Western media is a less hawkish figure than Netanyahu.

But the Israeli president has served as an uncompromising defender of Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza.

Early in the war, he suggested that all Palestinians must be punished for the October 7, 2023 by Hamas against Israel.

“It is an entire nation out there that is responsible,” Herzog said at that time. “This rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved, it’s absolutely not true. They could’ve risen up; they could have fought against that evil regime.”

His statement has been cited by leading rights groups and United Nations investigators as evidence of Israel’s genocidal intent in Gaza.