Politics
Trump backs Netanyahu days before Israel’s election, despite recent policy rifts
President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, just over a week before Israel’s Oct. 27 election. The late endorsement comes after months of public distance and disagreements over the Iran war and Gaza.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, giving the embattled leader a high-profile show of support less than two weeks before Israel’s Oct. 27 national election.
Trump praised Netanyahu in a social media post as a strong wartime leader and a partner in confronting Iran. He also threatened renewed U.S. action against Iran, writing that the United States could “soon finish the job” unless the country changed course. Trump added that he might not want to do so if Netanyahu loses, and said the United States would have to act under any Israeli leader other than “Bibi,” Netanyahu’s nickname.
The endorsement reverses months of hesitation as the campaign entered its final stretch. Netanyahu’s Likud Party has presented his relationship with Trump as a reason voters should keep him in office. Netanyahu thanked Trump in a statement, saying the two would “complete the mission.” The party also shared a short video featuring the leaders together.
Israelis are voting in the first national election since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The race is expected to be tight, and the effect of Trump’s support is uncertain. Trump remains popular in Israel, but some Israelis have criticized the inconclusive outcome of this year’s war with Iran and Trump’s ceasefire proposal, which they viewed as falling short of key Israeli goals.
The leaders’ relationship has also faced strains over their approaches to the region. Trump criticized Israel’s attack on a major Iranian gas field early in the war and in June called Netanyahu “crazy.” In August, Netanyahu rejected Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, opposing a proposed Israeli withdrawal from territory it controls until Hamas is disarmed.
Trump has backed Netanyahu in previous elections and last November asked Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Netanyahu, who faces corruption charges. But Trump recently said he was “not involved in politics anymore” when asked whether he would support Netanyahu.
Trump has also endorsed candidates in elections abroad, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who lost his bid for a fifth term, as well as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Polish President Karol Nawrocki. The endorsement places Trump more directly in Israel’s closely contested campaign at a moment when U.S. and Israeli policy disagreements have become more visible.