USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Donald Trump Announces Full And Unconditional Support For Benjamin Netanyahu In Israel Elections
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Trump issued full and unconditional support for Netanyahu in Israel's elections. Nine days before the vote, backing aimed at bolstering Netanyahu's majority.
12 outlets told this the same way.
Trump backs Netanyahu
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday his "full and unconditional" support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli elections scheduled for October 27, warning that the United States would have to act if Israel chose "anyone other than Bibi."
Netanyahu responded on X by thanking Trump for "tremendous support" and saying, "Together we will complete the mission!"
Trump linked his endorsement to the Iran confrontation, saying he is "not inclined to do so" if Netanyahu loses and that Netanyahu is "the kind of partner we expect Israel to provide."
Trump also described Netanyahu as "strong, brave and brilliant" in the face of "tremendous opposition," while Netanyahu’s office framed the exchange as joint work to complete the mission.
Opposition questions motives
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized Trump’s intervention, urging the American president not to interfere in the Israeli elections and saying, "We are asking him not to interfere in the Israeli elections." Lapid also argued that "Israel is a democratic state, and Israelis alone can choose their leaders," while opposition figures described Trump’s backing as compensation after Washington refused to allow Israel to attack Iran before the elections.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Trump was asked whether he trusts Netanyahu and replied, "trusts no one," before shifting to decisive support nine days before the vote. Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main rival, emphasized at a Tel Aviv conference that "Israel is a democratic state, and Israelis alone can choose their leaders," even as Netanyahu acknowledged he was "deeply concerned" about the election outcome.
Election stakes and fallout
Netanyahu’s campaign unfolded with the election framed as the first since Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, and with Trump warning that if Israel chose the wrong leader, the United States would have to do the job itself. Channel 13 reported that Netanyahu promised Trump partial reconstruction in a specific area of the Gaza Strip near the buffer zone in exchange for electoral support, while Netanyahu’s office denied the report as "completely false news."
The October 27 vote also carried legal and diplomatic stakes, with the sources tying Netanyahu to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued in November 2024 and to allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. As the election approached, Netanyahu told Radio 104FM affiliated with Ma’ariv, "We must guarantee our victory; I am not sure of my victory, and I am very concerned," while the sources said the Knesset formation threshold required at least 61 of 120 seats.