Trump renews Netanyahu endorsement on eve of Israeli election

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging voters to support him in Tuesday’s national election.

“Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, also re-sharing his Oct. 18 endorsement.

Netanyahu had thanked Trump for that endorsement, saying Israel “has never had a greater friend in the White House” and pledging that together they would never allow Iran’s regime to obtain nuclear weapons.

In his Oct. 18 endorsement, Trump explicitly linked further American action against Iran to Netanyahu’s re-election. “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.

Trump’s latest statement reads in full:

“To the people of Israel, to those who haven’t seen it, I am attaching the Endorsement I gave one week ago to your Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu. As everyone is aware, including the enemy, Bibi and I have had a great relationship in winning together. I did the Venezuelan attack, one of the most successful Military Operations in History but, before that, we did Operation Midnight Hammer, stopping the World’s Number One State Sponsor of Terror from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. Then we did Operation Epic Fury, and Iran now has No Navy, No Air Force, and both their Military and Economy are in shambles, including the fact that Iran’s Inflation is at 301%. The Naval Blockade has precluded them from getting Oil, and two levels of leadership, both Military and otherwise, are gone. When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister! Israel was called The Little Satan, with the United States being called The Big Satan, by some very evil people. There can no longer be the chant heard around the World of ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’ and there won’t be. Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main challenger in Tuesday’s election, said on Monday that he was convinced Trump would work “in full cooperation with any leader elected by the people.”

“Donald Trump is a true friend of Israel. I value his work and his commitment to Israel’s security,” Eisenkot added.

He accused Netanyahu of running a “scare campaign,” including “images of atom bombs in the heart of Tel Aviv,” adding, “This time it won’t work for him.”

President Isaac Herzog, who will decide whom to task with forming the next government, said in an interview with MS NOW published on Sunday that he would exercise his judgment independently of Trump and other world leaders.

“I don’t think the president of the United States or anybody else can intervene in my discretion; the discretion has to be based on certain facts, and we will see what the facts are,” Herzog said. “There will be a lot of pressure, though, regardless.”

Herzog said he had “huge respect” for Trump and welcomed dialogue, adding, “It’s Israel’s democracy and Israel’s constitution, and that’s what counts for me.”

He also said he would seek to avoid another round of elections, including by pushing for a national unity government involving Netanyahu and Eisenkot. “I don’t know if it’s feasible,” he acknowledged.

Eisenkot last week ruled out joining a Netanyahu-led government, including under a rotating premiership arrangement. “I unequivocally pledge that I will not serve under Netanyahu, not even in a rotation arrangement,” he told Radio 103FM on Oct. 21, promising to resign within an hour if he broke that commitment.