Donald Trump has endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s parliamentary election, giving the incumbent prime minister his “Complete and Total Endorsement” nine days before voters go to the polls.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president praised Mr Netanyahu as a strong ally during the war against Iran and wrote: “BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
Mr Trump also described the Israeli leader as “Strong, Brave, and Brilliant” in the face of opposition, including from within Israel.
The endorsement came after Mr Trump had declined to back Mr Netanyahu earlier this month when asked repeatedly about his performance in an interview with Time magazine. Instead, he shifted the discussion towards his own popularity and security in the Middle East.
The two leaders have met more than six times since January 2025, although reports have pointed to disagreements over the war against Iran and other conflicts.
Mr Trump acknowledged in June that he had called Mr Netanyahu “f***ing crazy” during a phone conversation in which he expressed frustration over Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
He had reportedly asked Mr Netanyahu not to take further action in Lebanon in an apparent attempt to preserve a short-lived April ceasefire with Iran.
Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu jointly launched a war against Iran on February 28. The conflict has disrupted global oil and gas supplies and has no clear end in sight, while a Pew Research Center poll found that roughly two-thirds of US voters disapproved of Mr Trump’s handling of it.
The war has also driven up consumer fuel prices and prompted concerns about the depletion of military stockpiles. Mr Trump’s Republican Party is facing a critical midterm election on November 3, which will determine whether it retains control of Congress as well as several key state and local offices.
Mr Netanyahu’s Likud Party and its far-right coalition face the possibility of losing the October 27 election to an opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party.
In his endorsement, Mr Trump said Iran would eventually have attacked both the US and Israel. He argued that the country had been “systematically destroyed, both Militarily and Financially” and warned that, unless it changed its ways, “we will soon finish the job”.
“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,” Mr Trump wrote.
