Trump gives Netanyahu his complete and total endorsement ahead of the Israeli election on October 27

The endorsement came as a letter, and it left nothing in reserve. President Trump on Sunday published what he called a complete and total endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli election set for October 27, which will decide the 120 seats of the Knesset and with them the premiership.

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, the president wrote. He credited Netanyahu with standing strong against Iran, writing that it would have been only a question of time until Iran put its threats into effect, and that Iran armed forces and finances have been systematically destroyed, with a warning that unless Tehran changes its ways, rapidly, the United States will soon finish the job. Bibi Netanyahu has been strong, brave and brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel itself, he wrote. Normal men or women in such situations would have wilted under the pressure. But Bibi did not wilt, he actually got stronger. The letter closed in capitals: Bibi Netanyahu will never let you down.

The intervention lands in a race Netanyahu is not leading. His Likud party runs behind the Yashar party of former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot in four major polls, from Maariv, Channel 12, Channel 13 and Kan News. His standing at home has been worn down by the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, by his ongoing corruption trial, and by public anger over the government failures that preceded the October 7, 2023 attack.

American presidents have weighed in on Israeli elections before, and Israeli voters have not always rewarded it. What is unusual here is the completeness of it. The letter does not hedge, does not address any other candidate as acceptable, and ties the American relationship itself to the outcome. Nine days before the vote, the president of the United States has told Israeli voters, in writing, that their choice is also his.