Trump Endorses Netanyahu Ahead of Israel’s Close Parliamentary Election
President Donald Trump's Netanyahu endorsement arrives nine days before the Israeli election, as polls show a tight race.
Trump announced the endorsement in a Truth Social post addressed to “the Great People of Israel.” He called Netanyahu a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” and a partner for peace against Iran, and he described the post as his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”
“Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition,” Trump wrote, adding that some of it came from inside Israel. He credited Netanyahu with joining the United States in striking Iran in February. The war that followed is still going and has disrupted energy markets and parts of the Middle East.
Trump also said Israel would have the “wrong Leader” if anyone other than Netanyahu won. In that case, he wrote, America would have to “do this work ourselves,” and he said he is not inclined to.
Netanyahu thanked Trump for the “tremendous support” and wrote, “Together we will complete the mission!” Likud posted a 35-second video of clips showing the two men together, replying on X.
Trump held back for months. His public remarks about Netanyahu were muted, and he repeatedly avoided saying whether he would back him. Netanyahu had made their friendship part of his campaign pitch. Trump has criticized him at times, publicly and in private. Trump said he chose to endorse him because they get along and Israel needs a leader it can count on.
The election is the first since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, which led to wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Israelis do not vote for prime minister directly. The winner is whoever can build a majority coalition in parliament, and polls suggest neither Likud nor its rivals has a clear way to do that.
Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist bloc is projected to lose its majority. The opposition may also fall short. If both do, Netanyahu could act as a caretaker prime minister while the country votes again.
Gadi Eisenkot, the main opposition candidate and a former military chief, told Israel’s Channel 12 that he respects the American president and appreciates what he has done for Israel. Some of Netanyahu’s rivals had urged Trump to stay neutral.
Trump’s standing in Israel has dropped over disagreements with Jerusalem about Iran. The war is also unpopular with many Americans. Tamar Hermann of the Israel Democracy Institute said the endorsement could win back some wavering Netanyahu voters but is unlikely to draw many new ones. Most Israelis, including critics of the prime minister, supported the war against Iran, she said.
Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the endorsement “couldn’t hurt him, and it might help” in a race this close. Trump probably waited to keep leverage on Gaza and Lebanon, Miller said.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, was first elected in 1996 and returned to office in 2009. Trump has endorsed candidates in other foreign elections as well, including in Hungary, Colombia, Argentina, Japan and Honduras, a break with long-standing American practice.
