President Trump threw his full weight behind Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, nine days before Israelis go to the polls on Oct. 27. In a post on Truth Social addressed to "the Great People of Israel," the president wrote, as quoted by Reuters via NBC News: "Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Israel."
The timing matters. This is Israel's first national election since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, and it comes with the country caught up in wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. The war with Iran is now in its seventh month and has disrupted global energy markets. According to Axios, most polls show Netanyahu's coalition short of the 61 seats needed to govern.
The endorsement came after months in which Trump had declined to say whether he would back Netanyahu.
The Iran Argument
Axios reported another line in the post that tied the endorsement to Iran: "If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work [in Iran] ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so."
Axios also reported that Trump and Netanyahu discussed a major new Iran operation about two weeks ago, before the Israeli and American elections, and that Trump leaned toward it before choosing to wait until after the elections. Axios read a separate line in the post, about soon finishing the job, as a signal of a strike after the U.S. midterms. That is the outlet's interpretation, not something confirmed by Trump.
Why Now, After Months of Hedging
Trump's recent comments on politics had been subdued. According to the Associated Press, as published by NPR, he told Time magazine this month, "I'm not involved in politics anymore," even as he kept endorsing American candidates. The AP noted that he has endorsed Netanyahu in past elections, and that in November, apparently 2025, he sent Israeli President Isaac Herzog a letter asking him to pardon Netanyahu on corruption charges. In his second term he has also endorsed foreign candidates, including Hungary's Viktor Orbán.
Asked about the timing in a phone interview with Axios, Trump said: "I was always going to do that. I just didn't want to do it too soon." Axios reported that he began planning the endorsement earlier in the week.
Axios also called this the first time a U.S. president has explicitly and publicly endorsed a candidate in an Israeli election. That claim is Axios's alone and is unverified, and the AP reports earlier Trump endorsements of Netanyahu.
A Relationship With Rough Edges
Axios, citing two unnamed people, reported that Trump has privately blamed Netanyahu for the failures of Oct. 7 and called him his own worst enemy. Trump has not confirmed those remarks. The outlet also reported, without a named source, that some Trump advisers believed a Netanyahu loss could help the president's agenda.
Netanyahu thanked Trump in a post on X, writing, as NBC reported, "Together we will complete the mission!"
Gadi Eisenkot, described by Axios as Netanyahu's main rival, spoke to Israel's Channel 12. According to Axios, he called the election "a domestic Israeli issue" and said only Israelis will decide it.
What Comes Next
Israelis vote on Oct. 27, and coalition-building follows the vote. Reaction from Netanyahu's opponents and the Israeli public is still to come. Axios reports that a possible Iran operation is on hold until after the elections, with the U.S. midterms a later step.
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