President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Israel will no longer get U.S. aid after the end of the year, contending that the U.S. ally is a "thriving" country and no longer needs the help. Israel is historically the largest recipient of U.S. military aid.

Trump specifically cited the critiques by Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who on the campaign trail has pushed for ending the aid to Israel and argued taxpayer funds should instead be spent on state and local priorities such as schools, healthcare and infrastructure.

"Why? Because they don’t need it," Trump told the show "Fox & Friends" on Fox News. "Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don't need it? It's a bad talking point. Because they say, why don't we give everyone $4 billion? Israel's our No. 1. We give them more than anybody else."

Trump said that the U.S. has been giving Israel $4 billion a year, "but it gets cut off at the end of the year," adding that he'd already discussed and reached an agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"He brought it up. He said, I think it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid. Because he understands that this one of their points of contention," Trump said.

The president said the $4 billion covers military aid, cash or barter ― "things and money, and they don't need it."

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