Trump Endorses Netanyahu Days Before Israeli Election
The president gave Netanyahu his "complete and total endorsement" nine days before Israel's vote, warning U.S. support could shift if Israel picks "the wrong leader."
President Donald Trump endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection as Israel’s prime minister on Sunday, nine days before Israelis vote in the country’s first national election since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023.
Trump announced the endorsement in a letter-style post on Truth Social addressed to “the Great People of Israel.” He called Netanyahu “Strong, Brave, and Brilliant” and “a great warrior prime minister.”
The post carried a warning. “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,” Trump wrote. He praised Netanyahu as “an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The endorsement ends weeks of uncertainty. Trump repeatedly declined to say whether Israeli voters should give Netanyahu another term, including in a recent interview with Time Magazine.
Netanyahu is fighting for his political life. He faces long-running corruption trials, an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Gaza, and anger at home over security failures before the Oct. 7 attack.
His strongest challenger is Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, whose centrist Yashar party has climbed in the polls. Polls show no candidate with a clear path to a governing majority. Israel’s prime minister is chosen through coalition-building in parliament, not by direct popular vote.
The endorsement is not certain to help. Reuters reported that Israeli public support for Trump has diminished amid disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem over Iran. Trump credited Netanyahu with joining the United States in launching strikes on Iran in February, at the start of a war that continues.
“Normal men or women in such situations would have wilted under the pressure,” Trump wrote of Netanyahu. “But Bibi did not wilt. He actually got stronger.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
