US President Donald Trump has finally extended his support to incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s upcoming parliamentary election, scheduled for October 27. Netanyahu is facing a stiff challenge in this election, making Trump’s endorsement a welcome relief for him. In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Sunday, Trump described Netanyahu as a “strong, brave, and smart” leader, as reported by Al Jazeera. This endorsement comes just nine days before the election; previously, in an interview with Time magazine, Trump had declined to express support for Netanyahu.
There had also been reports of disagreements between the two on various issues. It is alleged that last June, expressing frustration over Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Trump referred to Netanyahu as a “madman” during a phone call. At the time, Trump had urged Netanyahu to refrain from further attacks in Lebanon, aiming to maintain a fragile, short-lived ceasefire involving Iran. However, in an interview with Axios, Trump stated that he had always intended to support Netanyahu and was simply waiting for the right moment to make it public.
Netanyahu’s Likud party and his far-right coalition face the risk of losing power to an opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot. In his post, Trump claimed that Iran has been militarily and financially devastated. He warned that if anyone other than Netanyahu were to come to power in Israel, the United States would be left to confront Iran on its own—a scenario he is unwilling to accept.
In response to this endorsement, Netanyahu released a video message thanking Trump, whom he described as Israel’s “greatest friend” in the White House. Addressing American voters, he stated that the collapse of Iran’s current regime would lead to a drop in global energy prices—but that this could only happen if Trump remains in power.
