Trump endorses Netanyahu days before Israeli election, framing Iran war as shared mission

Trump breaks months of silence with endorsement

President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection, posting on social media that Netanyahu "has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran." The endorsement comes nine days before Israelis are set to vote on October 27 in the first national elections since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and after Trump withheld support for months as the two leaders' Middle East strategies diverged. PBS News reported that Trump's endorsement arrived late in Netanyahu's campaign, while CBS News described the boost as coveted because of Trump's popularity in Israel. (ABC News)

Iran war and conditional pressure frame the endorsement

In the same post, Trump again threatened to "soon finish the job" against Iran "unless they change their ways, rapidly," but added he might not want to if Netanyahu loses the election. FRANCE 24 reported Trump's threat to finish the job against Iran, while PBS News and CBS News both noted the conditional language linking continued pressure on Iran to Netanyahu's political survival. The two leaders had jointly launched a war against Iran on February 28, according to Al Jazeera, but the conflict has cost Trump domestic support and upended global oil and gas supply with no clear end in sight.

Months of friction preceded the endorsement

Trump's endorsement reverses his earlier reticence. Al Jazeera reported that Trump had refused to endorse Netanyahu earlier in October when asked repeatedly about the Israeli leader's job performance in an interview with Time magazine, instead shifting focus to his own popularity or security in the Middle East. The two leaders have met more than a half dozen times since January 2025, but reports of disagreements have surfaced, including over the war against Iran and other conflicts. In June, Trump acknowledged calling Netanyahu "f***ing crazy" in a phone conversation expressing frustration about Israel's attacks on Lebanon, and had reportedly asked Netanyahu not to take further action there in an apparent attempt to preserve a short-lived April ceasefire with Iran. Trump told Axios on Sunday his endorsement was never in doubt, saying: "I was always going to do that. I just didn't want to do it too soon. It is important that Israel has a person they can count on."

Divergences on Gaza, Lebanon, and domestic Israeli politics

Strategic divergences extend beyond Iran. ABC News reported that Trump criticized Israel's decision to attack a key Iranian gas field in the first weeks of the war. Beyond Iran, Netanyahu in August rejected Trump's latest plan to advance a stalled ceasefire in Gaza, pushing back on the U.S. administration's call for Israel to withdraw from territory it controls in Gaza until Hamas has been disarmed. Trump also sent a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog in November asking him to pardon Netanyahu on corruption charges, according to PBS News and ABC News.

Netanyahu embraces endorsement and addresses U.S. voters

Netanyahu responded warmly to the endorsement. In a statement in Hebrew posted on X, he thanked Trump for "tremendous support and work together" and added: "Together we will complete the mission!" PBS News and FRANCE 24 both reported Netanyahu's thanks. Al Jazeera quoted Netanyahu saying: "I'm so honoured and humbled by your extraordinary endorsement. There's never been a greater friend of Israel in the White House. That's an understatement." Netanyahu also praised Trump for not being "set back by internal criticism" about the war against Iran and directed comments to U.S. voters, arguing that gas prices would fall when the Iranian regime threat disappears, "but only under Trump. It's not going to happen with those who want to accommodate and appease these tyrants." (CBS News)

Tight Israeli race amid domestic and international criticism

The Israeli election remains tight. Netanyahu's Likud Party and its far-right coalition face the prospect of losing to an opposition bloc led by Yashar party head Gadi Eisenkot, Al Jazeera reported. Netanyahu's government, the most nationalist and far-right in Israel's history, faces domestic criticism over security failures and international criticism over the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, with some senior officials being settlers themselves, according to CBS News. Many Israelis, including leading commentators, have expressed disappointment over the inconclusive outcome of the Iran war and Trump's ceasefire proposal, which fell short of key goals when the war was jointly launched in February, as reported by ABC News and CBS News. It was not immediately clear what impact the endorsement would have on the race, though Trump remains popular in Israel.

U.S. domestic politics and the midterm backdrop

The endorsement carries significant U.S. domestic political weight. A Pew Research Center poll found this month that roughly two-thirds of U.S. voters disapprove of Trump's handling of the Iran war, which has driven up consumer fuel prices and raised concerns about draining military stockpiles, according to Al Jazeera and PBS News. Trump's Republican Party faces a critical midterm election on November 3 that will decide whether it maintains control of the U.S. Congress, as well as other key state and local offices. Experts have speculated that Trump's prior reticence to endorse Netanyahu may have come from public perception that Israel may have coaxed the U.S. into the war, Al Jazeera reported. Trump also warned: "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," according to PBS News.

Opposition response and what comes next

Netanyahu's main election rival responded to Trump's endorsement by saying "only Israelis can choose their leader," FRANCE 24 reported. With nine days until the October 27 vote, the endorsement injects a direct U.S. presidential preference into an Israeli contest already shaped by the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, the ongoing Iran war, and domestic dissatisfaction with the government's handling of security and the cost of living. The next development will be whether Trump's late intervention shifts undecided voters in a race described as expected to be tight, and how the Iran war's trajectory affects both leaders' political fortunes before the U.S. midterms on November 3. (ABC News; CBS News; PBS News)