President Donald Trump issued his strongest possible endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, urging Israelis to re-elect the embattled leader nine days before Israel's October 27 parliamentary election. In a letter-style post on Truth Social addressed "To the Great People of Israel," Trump warned that if Israelis choose the wrong leader, America will have to take on the fight against Iran alone — and he is "not inclined" to do it.
Trump's message, published on October 18, was unambiguous. "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," he wrote. "BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!"
The Endorsement: "BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN"
The president praised Netanyahu as "a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran." He called him "Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself," adding: "I have watched Bibi under the most trying of times. Normal men or women in such situations would have wilted under the pressure — But Bibi did not wilt, he actually got stronger, and maintains that same Strength today."
Trump closed the endorsement with a blunt warning to Israeli voters. "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," he wrote, framing Netanyahu as "the kind of Partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel, a Country for which it has done so much."
First Election Since October 7 — and a Tight Race
The October 27 vote will be Israel's first national election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that plunged the Middle East into a grinding war across Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. According to Reuters, the election could determine whether Netanyahu remains in power after one of the most consequential periods in Israel's history — or is ousted by centrist rivals promising a new era.
Netanyahu faces a closely contested battle, with centrist figure Gadi Eisenkot his main challenger. The election comes amid an ongoing confrontation with Iran that has reshaped the region's geopolitics, with Israel and the United States jointly striking Iranian targets earlier this year.
A Sharp Reversal: Trump Went From Hesitation to Full Backing
The full-throated endorsement marks a dramatic shift from just days earlier. Trump had repeatedly declined to weigh in. In a Time magazine interview published October 1, he sidestepped questions about whether Israelis should give Netanyahu another term, saying only: "I can only say that I'm not involved in politics anymore."
On October 13, when asked directly, Trump said he hadn't even thought about it. "We haven't even thought about it," he told reporters, while hinting he might weigh in later. And in a Newsmax interview just days before the endorsement, Trump said Israelis want him to campaign for Netanyahu but stopped short of backing him — adding, "I don't trust anybody. In the world of politics, I don't trust anybody."
The endorsement follows Trump's pattern of keeping Netanyahu guessing publicly before ultimately lining up behind him, as he did when he said in June he would "most likely" endorse Netanyahu but wanted to see the opposition first.
The Iran Factor: "We Will Soon Finish the Job"
The endorsement letter was heavy on Iran. Trump claimed Tehran had been "systematically destroyed, both Militarily and Financially" by the joint US-Israeli campaign, and issued a warning: "unless they change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job."
The Iran war looms large over everything. Reuters/Ipsos polling this week found Trump's approval at a record-low 33 percent, with roughly eight in ten Americans — including 71 percent of Republicans — believing US involvement in Iran "will go on for an extended period of time." Trump told a rally in Garden City, New York on Friday that paying "a tiny little bit more for your gasoline" is worth the cost of keeping nuclear weapons out of Iranian hands.
Earlier this week, Trump also waived bipartisan Russia sanctions and tariffs under the Graham Act for a 60-day review, a move his critics linked to pressure over high energy prices driven by the Iran war.
A Long, Complicated Alliance
Trump's endorsement underscores one of the closest — and most transactional — personal relationships in modern US-Israel diplomacy. During his first term, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, moved the US Embassy there, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and brokered the Abraham Accords normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states.
Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has hosted Netanyahu at the White House at least seven times. Last November, he even sent a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog asking him to pardon Netanyahu on corruption charges — a request that went nowhere but signaled Trump's personal investment in the prime minister's fate.
But the relationship has had its rough patches. Trump has openly mused about whether Netanyahu is the right partner. This time, the endorsement comes as a letter to Israeli voters themselves, a far more direct intervention in Israel's domestic politics.
What This Means
For Netanyahu, Trump's endorsement is manna — and a message he can weaponize. His campaign has already emphasized his close ties with Trump, and the president's seal of approval lets Netanyahu tell voters he is the only Israeli leader with guaranteed access to the White House at a moment when the Iran confrontation is far from over.
For the United States, the intervention is striking: a sitting president inserting himself directly into another democracy's election, with an explicit quid pro quo framing — keep Bibi, or America steps back from the Iran fight. The bluntness of Trump's "wrong Leader" warning will be read by critics as pressure on Israeli voters to re-elect a prime minister who still faces corruption charges at home.
For the region, the message is continuity: Trump's full backing of Netanyahu's approach to Iran means no softening is on the table. The war that has defined Netanyahu's last term — and weighed on Trump's own approval ratings — is, in Trump's telling, still unfinished business.
What Happens Next
Israelis vote on October 27, just nine days after Trump's endorsement. The question now is whether the president's letter moves votes or backfires: endorsements from foreign leaders can cut both ways, and Israeli voters have a history of resenting outside interference.
Either way, the aftermath will shape US-Israel policy for years. If Netanyahu wins, Trump gets his indispensable partner for the Iran campaign. If he loses, Trump will be dealing with a centrist government he just publicly campaigned against — and the "work ourselves" line will be tested against the reality of American strategic interests.
Post a Comment