Trump announces support for Netanyahu 9 days before the Israeli elections.. Why now?

- Just over a week before elections in Israel, US President Donald Trump finally provided the frank and strong endorsement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had long sought. In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump described the Israeli Prime Minister as “a great prime minister and warrior,” stressing that this statement represents “full and comprehensive support for Bibi Netanyahu.”

Trump also hinted at the possibility of a resumption of hostilities in the unpopular war with Iran — a war the United States had waged in cooperation with Israel eight months ago — saying that if the Iranians do not "quickly change their approach, we will finish the job soon." Netanyahu was quick to respond, thanking Trump for the “tremendous support and joint work.”

In a brief phone interview with Barak Ravid, a journalist at Axios and a global affairs analyst at Ofek News, Trump made clear that he had always intended to support Netanyahu, saying: “I always intended to do it, but I didn’t want to do it too early.” Trump added, according to Ravid, that they have a “good relationship” and that they will “continue to work well” together if Netanyahu is re-elected.

The US President said: "It is important that Israel has someone it can rely on." Trump's support for Netanyahu was uncertain until the moment of his announcement, a support that cannot obscure the fact that the relationship between the two parties has been characterized, at times, by turmoil.

For years, Israelis - as they traveled through the country's highways in the final weeks before the elections - have become accustomed to seeing the same scene: Benjamin Netanyahu standing next to Donald Trump, under the slogan: "On a different level." Less than two weeks before the vote on October 27, Netanyahu's billboards reappeared, but this time without Trump on them.

Although President Trump still appears in some videos of Netanyahu's Likud Party, his absence may have implications that go beyond mere election propaganda considerations. Until Sunday, Trump had refrained from declaring his support for Netanyahu.

In a statement to Time magazine earlier this month, Trump said: “I am no longer involved in [Israeli] politics.” He also told Newsmax on Thursday that Netanyahu wants Trump to be involved in the elections.

Trump added: “I had a very good relationship with him,” but again avoided announcing his support for him. When asked directly whether he trusted Netanyahu, he answered frankly: “I don’t trust anyone in the world of politics.”

Trump has been present in Netanyahu's election campaigns since 2013; At the time - when he was still a businessman and television personality - he posted a video urging Israelis to “vote for Benjamin.” When Trump entered the White House in 2017, he lavished Netanyahu with many political gifts.

About two weeks before Israel's elections in April 2019, Netanyahu was in Washington to witness Trump's signing of a historic declaration recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights. In January 2020, five weeks before Israelis went to the polls, Trump unveiled the Israeli-Palestinian “deal of the century” plan, while Netanyahu stood beside him, smiling.

Before these elections, there were no ceremonial reception ceremonies. The last time Netanyahu and Trump met at the White House in August, there were no cameras.

The two men also did not meet at all when Netanyahu traveled to New York to attend the UN General Assembly in September. Over the past year, Netanyahu has taken steps that have angered Trump, including undermining Trump-led peace efforts by launching strikes inside Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

According to people familiar with these conversations, Trump harshly criticized the Israeli prime minister during phone calls, warning him that he was losing support among Americans. Trump also questioned why Israel was bombing residential buildings in Lebanon, and warned of the risk of a global economic recession as a result of the war with Iran.

Within the White House, many of these moves were interpreted as political maneuvers by Netanyahu in an election year; These are internal political dynamics that Trump and his advisors are well aware of. Over the summer, several Trump advisers came to the conclusion that Netanyahu was seeking to prolong the war with Iran to bolster his political standing.

People familiar with the matter said that Trump granted Netanyahu a degree of flexibility, taking into account these political considerations, but he nevertheless expressed his dissatisfaction with some of Israel’s actions, many of which he believes conflict with American interests. Another person close to Trump indicated that the latter’s reluctance to announce his support for Netanyahu is related to the latter’s weak position in the opinion polls. Trump has always been careful to avoid supporting candidates who appear likely to lose.

According to people familiar with the matter, during conversations over the past few months, Trump has asked Netanyahu questions about the election and his chances in it. Despite Netanyahu's attempts to show confidence, Trump is fully aware of the difficult political situation in which the prime minister finds himself.

As Netanyahu's standing within the Trump administration declined, Trump's standing in Israel also declined. According to Israeli sources close to Netanyahu, Trump was originally supposed to be a mainstay of Netanyahu's election campaign.

Last December, while at the Mar-a-Lago resort, Netanyahu announced that Trump would become the first non-Israeli to receive the prestigious “Israel Prize.” Netanyahu's aides expressed hope that Trump would accept the award in person at Israel's Independence Day ceremony in April, giving a strong boost to the campaign at the start.

The joint US-Israeli offensive began on February 28, with the two leaders demonstrating strategic alignment. Netanyahu thanked “my friend, President Donald Trump,” and described him as “a leader of his word.”

Trump described himself and Netanyahu as "war heroes" and publicly called on the Israeli president to grant Netanyahu a pardon in his ongoing corruption trials. But Trump has never shown interest in attending the Israel Awards ceremony.

By then, the fighting in Iran had ended and ceasefire talks were underway. The ceasefire agreement in Iran, and the subsequent memorandum of understanding, were met with strong opposition in Israel, especially among the right.

Yinon Magal, a pro-Netanyahu TV presenter, described Trump as a “loser” after the deal was signed. A July poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute found that only 7% of Israelis had “a great deal of confidence” that Trump “will make the right decision” regarding US-Israeli relations, while 45% said they had no confidence in that.

A source from the Likud Party said: “Trump’s standing in Israel has declined, especially among right-wing voters. Obtaining his support would not have provided much support to Netanyahu, and so Netanyahu did not invest much in this matter.”

Another Likud source added: “It is not a matter of Trump supporting another competitor, so obtaining his support is a good thing, but it is not decisive.” Netanyahu's opponents are watching the situation, but with less concern than before.

“A year ago, our team was reaching out to anyone close to Trump to prevent us from getting his endorsement,” said one prominent opposition figure. “Now it doesn’t matter much; that magic is gone.”

When asked specifically who Netanyahu's main rival is in the polls right now, Trump said, "Well, I don't know, I don't hear bad things about him," and then said, "They've excluded Bibi many times, just like they've excluded me many times." American public opinion toward Israel has declined sharply, and has worsened even more against the backdrop of the Iran war.

Average overall support for Israel fell from +51 points in July 2018 to -16 points in July 2026, according to several polls, a decline of 67 points over 8 years. As Americans' dissatisfaction with the war with Iran increased, a source familiar with the nature of the relationship said that Trump was "trying to get rid of the impression that Netanyahu was the one who dragged him into it."

However, this apparent distance may be misleading. Israeli sources indicate that the two leaders recently discussed the possibility of launching new strikes against Iran.

Israeli security sources told Ofoq News Network that preparations are underway awaiting Trump's decision, although the timing is not specified due to the midterm elections in the United States. Netanyahu rejected suggestions that he was seeking escalation before the vote.

"It's not right for us, it's not good," he told Army Radio this week. He expressed his fear that if Iran fired missiles at Israel, his opponents “will blame me.”