President Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, calling him "a Great Warrior Prime Minister" days before Israelis vote on October 27.
Zoom in: Trump wrote on social media that Netanyahu has been "a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran," and praised him as "Strong, Brave, and Brilliant."
- Netanyahu replied in Hebrew on X: "Thank you, President Trump, for the tremendous support and work together. Together we will complete the mission!" Likud attached a 35-second video of the two leaders.
The backstory: Netanyahu had campaigned on his closeness to Trump, so months of silence was a setback. Asked this month by Time whether he would back the prime minister, Trump said, "I'm not involved in politics anymore."
- Trump called Netanyahu "crazy" in June, criticized Israel's strike on an Iranian gas field, and said he was "a little bit perturbed" that fighting with Hezbollah was slowing Iran talks, per AP via NPR.
Between the lines: Trump paired the endorsement with a threat, writing he could "soon finish the job" against Iran unless it changes course, while adding that if Israel has "anyone other than Bibi," America would have to act alone and he is disinclined to.
The other side: Trump is popular in Israel, though many Israelis and leading commentators have voiced disappointment at the inconclusive end of the eight-month Iran war and at a ceasefire proposal that fell short of the countries' stated goals.
Why it matters: This is the first Israeli national election since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and the US president just made his own Iran policy contingent on the result.
What's next: Israelis vote October 27. Trump endorsed Viktor Orban in a losing fifth-term bid, and backed Japan's Sanae Takaichi and Poland's Karol Nawrocki, who won.
