President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late in his re-election campaign, a coveted boost due to Trump’s popularity but one that Americans have held off for months as the vote approaches and the leader diverges over strategy in the Middle East.
Trump posted on social media that Netanyahu “is a great warrior prime minister and an even greater partner for peace in the fight against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Israel is scheduled to vote on October 27, its first national election since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
The lack of support is a setback for the Likud politician, who had seen his close relationship with the Republican president as a selling point to stay in power.
Trump supported Netanyahu in past elections and sent a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog in November asking him to pardon Netanyahu on corruption charges.
But Trump has been much more conciliatory in his comments about Netanyahu in recent months, repeatedly demurring when asked whether he would support the prime minister. “I’m no longer involved in politics,” the president said when asked about his support for the Israeli leader in a Time magazine interview published this month, even though he campaigns for and supports U.S. politicians.
Trump, especially in his second term, has sought to stamp his stamp of approval on candidates in foreign elections and claim credit when they succeed. He supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s unsuccessful bid for a fifth term, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Polish President Karol Nawrocki and several Latin American leaders.
Trump and Netanyahu have always been close allies, and they appear more united than ever after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2025. But over the course of this year’s nearly eight-month war with Iran, their differences emerged.
Trump criticized Israel’s decision to attack key Iranian natural gas fields in the first week of the war. In June, he called Netanyahu “crazy.” Trump also said he was “a little disturbed” that Israel’s fighting with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon was hampering peace talks with Iran.
In addition to Iran, Netanyahu in August rejected Trump’s latest plan to promote a ceasefire in Gaza, pushing back on the U.S. government’s call for Israel to withdraw its troops from the territory it controls in Gaza until Hamas disarms.