Trump endorses Netanyahu for re-election 9 days before Israel votes, ties backing to Iran

As of 11:48 a.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday, Oct. 18, endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for re-election, nine days before Israel's Oct. 27 parliamentary election.

"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!" Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform at 10:45 a.m. ET. He reposted it on his account at 11:02 a.m. ET.

The Associated Press confirmed the endorsement in a story published at 10:55 a.m. ET and in a breaking alert on X at 11:07 a.m. ET. AP described the endorsement as "a coveted boost because of Trump's popularity but one that the American had withheld for months as the vote neared and the leaders' strategies in the Middle East diverged". Reuters also confirmed the endorsement, noting that "It is not typical for U.S. presidents to make explicit endorsements in foreign elections".

What Trump wrote about Iran

Trump tied the endorsement to Iran. He called Netanyahu "a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran".

Trump wrote that Iran has "been systematically destroyed, both Militarily and Financially, and unless they change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job." He continued: "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."

Those are Trump's statements in a social media post. The post did not say what "finish the job" would involve, and it did not announce any change in U.S. policy.

Trump also wrote that Netanyahu "has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself." He added: "This is the kind of Partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel, a Country for which it has done so much."

Reactions

Netanyahu thanked Trump on X at 10:52 a.m. ET, seven minutes after the post. "Thank you, President Trump, for the tremendous support and the joint work. Together we will complete the mission!" he wrote in Hebrew, according to a GROKsiNEWS.com translation.

As of 11:48 a.m. ET, GROKsiNEWS.com had found no on-the-record response to the endorsement from Israel's opposition leaders or from Iran's government.

On Saturday, before the endorsement, opposition leader Yair Lapid told Israel's Channel 12 that he was asking Trump not to get involved. "We are asking him not to interfere in Israel's elections. We are a democracy," Lapid said, according to The Times of Israel. "I don't think an Israeli prime minister should interfere in elections in the United States, and I don't think an American president should interfere in Israeli elections".

Why it matters

The endorsement comes at a critical point in Netanyahu's fight for political survival, Axios reported, with most polls showing his coalition falling short of the 61 seats needed to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset.

A Times of Israel poll published Thursday, Oct. 15, showed opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party with 26 seats to 20 for Netanyahu's Likud, and neither bloc with a majority, Sky News reported. Poll figures are estimates and may not predict the result.

Netanyahu had billed his close ties to Trump as a selling point, AP reported, and the absence of an endorsement had been a setback for him. The Oct. 27 vote is Israel's first national election since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, AP and Sky News reported.

Full text of Trump's post

The full text of the 10:45 a.m. ET post, as published on Trump's Truth Social account:

To the Great People of Israel:

Bibi 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! We will destroy the Little Satan and the Big Satan.” What Country can survive when things such as this are allowed to be said, because eventually, they always end up being true? It would have been only a question of time until Iran would have put that ominous phrase into effect, but they have been systematically destroyed, both Militarily and Financially, and unless they change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job. 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. Despite all of that, he has endured and, in fact, he has thrived! 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. This is the kind of Partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel, a Country for which it has done so much. 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.

DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

This story is developing and will be updated.