Trump endorses Netanyahu nine days before Israel election

President Donald Trump gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his "Complete and Total Endorsement" on Sunday. He warned that "anyone other than Bibi" would be the wrong leader for Israel as it heads into its Oct. 27 vote. The endorsement is a boost Trump had held back for months while the two leaders' Middle East strategies drifted apart. It also came on the same day CNN reported that their once-close relationship had soured.nytimes.com+1

An endorsement framed around Iran

In a long Truth Social post addressed "To the Great People of Israel," Trump called Netanyahu "a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran". He then made the link to Iran explicit: "If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so".israelhayom.com+1

Trump also wrote that Iran had been "systematically destroyed, both militarily and financially," and warned that "unless they change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job". He ended the post with: "BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!".ynetnews.com+1

Netanyahu thanked Trump on X for "the tremendous support and the collaboration," adding, "Together we will complete the mission!". The vote will be Israel's first national election since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023. It could decide whether Netanyahu stays in power or loses to centrist rivals.timesofisrael.com+1

Months of distance

Until Sunday, Trump had avoided endorsing Netanyahu. Earlier this month he told Time, "I'm not involved in [Israeli] politics anymore." Asked by Newsmax whether he trusts Netanyahu, he said, "I don't trust anybody in the world of politics".cnn.com

CNN reported that Trump grew angry over Israeli strikes in Lebanon and Gaza that undercut U.S.-led peace efforts. According to people familiar with the calls, he cursed at Netanyahu on the phone. CNN also reported that some Trump advisers came to believe Netanyahu was trying to drag out the Iran war for political gain. Another person close to Trump said the lack of an endorsement was tied to Netanyahu's weak poll numbers.cnn.com

Uncertain value at home

How much the endorsement will help is unclear. Trump is less popular in Israel than he used to be, especially on the right, after the Iran ceasefire. A July Jewish People Policy Institute survey found that only 7% of Israelis had "a great deal of trust" in Trump on U.S.-Israel relations. "An endorsement would not necessarily have helped Netanyahu so much," one Likud source told CNN. Israel Hayom called the post an unusually direct public intervention by a sitting U.S. president in an Israeli election.israelhayom.com+1