Trump Endorses Netanyahu for Reelection Ahead of Israel's October 27 Vote

Updated 01:30 UTC, October 26: Trump endorses Netanyahu a second time

President Donald Trump endorsed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a second time on Sunday evening, two days before Israel votes on October 27, in a new post on Truth Social, The Jerusalem Post reported. In the post, Trump called Netanyahu an "outstanding Warrior Prime Minister" and told voters: "Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister. We have to finish the job that we started!" Haaretz and the Times of Israel also reported the renewed endorsement on Sunday night.

The second post followed a reported push by Netanyahu for more American backing in the final days of the campaign. The Jerusalem Post reported earlier on Sunday that Netanyahu had intensified his efforts to secure additional support from Trump, and two American sources told the Post that the push showed signs of political desperation. Axios reported that the two leaders had spoken twice in the past three days and that Netanyahu had suggested possible wording for new endorsements. The Times of Israel reported the new post as Trump doubling down on his support after the prime minister reportedly asked for another expression of support.

Trump first endorsed Netanyahu on October 18, in the endorsement this article reported at the time. The new post referred back to that endorsement and to the two leaders winning together against Iran, citing the operations called Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury.

President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection on Sunday, giving him a boost he had withheld for months before Israel votes on October 27. Trump announced the endorsement in a post on Truth Social, nine days before the election.

Trump called Netanyahu a great warrior prime minister and an even greater partner for peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Associated Press reported. In the same post, quoted by Reuters, he wrote that Netanyahu has been strong, brave and brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including opposition coming from Israel itself.

Trump closed the post by saying it should serve as his complete and total endorsement of Netanyahu in his race for reelection as prime minister of Israel. He added that Netanyahu will never let Israel down.

An endorsement withheld for months

The endorsement matters in part because it did not come sooner. The Associated Press said Trump had withheld it for months while the two leaders' strategies in the Middle East diverged. Its absence had been a setback for Netanyahu, a Likud politician who has presented his close ties to Trump as a reason for voters to keep him in power.

Trump made clear in the post that he saw the choice in Israel as a choice about Iran. If Israel had the wrong leader, which he said would be anyone other than Netanyahu, the United States would have to do that work itself, and he said he was not inclined to do so, the New York Post reported in its account of the full post.

First election since the October 7 attack

Israelis vote on October 27 in the first national election since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. That attack shook the country and pushed the Middle East into turmoil, as Israel went to war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, Reuters reported.

The vote will decide whether Netanyahu stays in power after one of the most consequential periods in Israel's history, or whether centrist rivals defeat him on a promise to open a new era. Netanyahu's party faces a tough race, and Trump's popularity in Israel makes his backing a prize for a campaign that has stressed the Washington relationship.

With just over a week of campaigning left, the endorsement puts the United States president openly inside Israel's election argument. Netanyahu can now point to a public statement from Trump, not only to past meetings, when he tells voters that he is the partner Washington wants. His rivals will have to answer that claim in the final days before October 27.