Trump endorses Netanyahu ahead of Israeli elections, citing Iranian threat

JTA – US President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is campaigning to retain his seat, arguing that his leadership was critical to destroying the threat from Iran. 

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Netanyahu has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran, with its 51-year-old chant, ‘Death to Israel, Death to America!’” 

Iran will be able to make good on its threat unless it is destroyed militarily and financially, Trump wrote. 

Alluding to a possible resumption of the two-month war that was paused in April, Trump said that unless Iran changes its ways, “we will soon finish the job”, but only if Netanyahu is in charge. 

“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. Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself,” Trump wrote. 

The president published his post with nine days to go until Israelis head to the polls on 27 October to elect a prime minister and Parliament. Netanyahu has been trailing former Israel Defense Forces Chief-of-Staff Gadi Eisenkot in recent surveys. 

Eisenkot told Israel’s Channel 12 that while Trump was a great friend of Israel, the elections were an internal matter. “Those who will decide who will be the next prime minister and who will be in the next coalition are only the citizens of Israel, and I will stand by that,” Eisenkot said. 

When asked if his campaign had been in touch with the Trump administration, Eisenkot said there had been a number of meetings that he did not want to elaborate on. He had asked, he said, that there not be interference in Israel’s elections. 

Brian Romick, president and chief executive of the Washington-based Democratic Majority for Israel, took a harder line against Trump’s statement. He called on the president to retract his endorsement, saying that it was “irresponsible and reckless”. The US-Israel relationship, he wrote on X, has endured for 78 years based on shared interests and values, and not on any specific prime minister. 

“Rhetoric like that is how a bipartisan, iron-clad commitment becomes a political football and sends a message to our allies around the world that America’s support is unreliable.” 

Netanyahu’s tight alliance with Trump has often been a cornerstone of his campaigns. Netanyahu has argued that his diplomatic leadership is vital to retaining the support of the US government. 

Trump, until Sunday, had held off on offering his clear backing. But in his Truth Social post, Trump wrote that Netanyahu was the kind of “partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel, a country for which it has done so much”. 

He ended by stressing, “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. Bibi Netanyahu will never let you down! Thank you for your attention to this matter.” 

Netanyahu has campaigned heavily on the elimination of the Islamic Republic and its nuclear threat to Israel, particularly in the final weeks before the election. 

During an interview with Israel’s i24News on Saturday night, Netanyahu warned that if Eisenkot won, he would allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. As the head of the right-wing political bloc, Netanyahu used the slogan “It’s right or nuclear”. 

The elections come three years after 7 October, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1 200 people and triggered a war in Gaza. The conflict widened to include fighting between Israel and Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. 

Israel has made major military gains but has not eliminated the threats from the proxy groups or Iran. Israel and Iran exchanged direct attacks in April and October 2024. The United States joined Israel’s military campaign against Iran in June 2025, and the two countries launched a new round of strikes on 28 February 2026. 

Trump declared Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities “obliterated” after the June 2025 US strikes. The US and Israel, however, remain concerned that Tehran is rebuilding its nuclear programme. 

Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich, a key part of Netanyahu’s coalition, said after Trump’s endorsement that the elections were a domestic Israeli affair, but stressed, “we would do well to listen to the president of the world’s greatest power, simply because he is right”. The right-wing bloc must continue to lead Israel and sustain Israeli-American cooperation to strengthen Israel’s security and future, Smotrich said in a post on X. 

Trump’s endorsement came hours after Netanyahu appeared on another programme, the Fox News show Life, Liberty & Levin, hosted by commentator Mark Levin. Netanyahu spoke glowingly of Trump and the importance of his battle to destroy the Iranian threat, as the American public prepares to head to the polls for their own midterm elections on 3 November. In that race, Republicans are fighting to maintain control of the House and Senate. 

The US war with Iran, which has slowed the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, causing gasoline prices to rise, has been unpopular with American voters and is often cited as one of the reasons Republican politicians could lose their races to Democrats. 

Netanyahu made the case on Fox News that the defeat of the Islamic Republic and the elimination of its nuclear programme was critical to ensuring a safe American future. In the US, some lawmakers have argued that the war was unwise, particularly given the apparent absence of an exit strategy. 

If Iran can destroy Israel, it will conquer the Middle East, control world waterways and oil supplies, and proceed to Europe and then “to the next target, which is you”, Netanyahu said, addressing a US audience in his Fox News appearance. 

The Islamic Republic wants to put nuclear warheads on intercontinental ballistic missiles so it can target the US, Netanyahu claimed. “Every single city will be held hostage to the blackmail of these fanatics,” he warned. “So the only way you can deal with it is to, basically, to get rid of this regime.” 

This will happen, he said, if he can work together with Trump during the next two years, which are the last two years of Trump’s term in office. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that war had not worked out so well for Israel and the US. 

“Last time you wanted to ‘finish the job’ Iran emerged even stronger. Want to try your luck again? Be our guest. But be careful; we have unfinished jobs too.”