Israel: Trump endorses Netanyahu ahead of elections

Israel: Trump endorses Netanyahu ahead of elections October 18, 2026US President Donald Trump has announced his "complete and total" endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel will hold parliamentary elections on October 27, with opinion polls suggesting neither Netanyahu nor the opposition will manage to secure the 61 seats needed to form a coalition. "Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu," Trump posted on his Truth Social account. Iran war at center of Trump announcement According to Trump, Netanyahu is a "Great Warrior Prime Minister," also commending him for his role in the war against Iran. "BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" Trump added. Netanyahu thanked the US leader for his "tremendous support." "Together we will complete the mission," Netanyahu posted on his X account, alluding to the joint campaign by the two countries against Iran. Trump said the US would be alone in the war against Iran if Netanyahu were not re-elected, also mentioning the chant often sung at events by Iran's Revolutionary Guards that calls for both the US' and Israel's death, also labeling the two countries "the big and small Satans." "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," Trump said. Netanyahu opponent reacts The war between Israel, the US and Iran began in February and resulted in Tehran blocking some global oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's main challenger, reacted to Trump's endorsement by saying the Israeli public are the only ones who decide who is the country's next leader. Speaking at an event in Tel Aviv, Eisenkot voiced his appreciation of Trump's "large contribution" to Israel's security. "But Israel is a democratic state," he said, adding that the US administration will learn to work with whichever government the public decides on. Netanyahu boasts Trump friendship once again This is not the first time Netanyahu's election campaign has invoked Trump's support to augment the Israeli leader's international status. In 2019, Netanyahu's Likud party posted billboards showing the Israeli leader shaking hands with Trump during the latter's first term as US president, as well as with Russian President Vladimir Putin, describing Netanyahu as a leader of a "different league." Netanyahu is the longest serving prime minister in Israel's history. Much of Israeli society is divided on his far-right coalition's role in the failure to foresee and prevent the October 7 terrorist attack by Islamist Palestinian group Hamasand its affiliates in Gaza, in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed. Netanyahu has refused to establish a state inquiry with the authority to look into government documents and summon ministers and officials to testify. Instead, the prime minister wants a commission with less authority to see confidential documents and with no authority to force testimonies by the country's leading politicians and officials. Another point of contention is Israel's war in Gaza that followed the attack, in which some 74,000 Palestinians have been killed. Despite repeatedly promising a "total victory" after the war began, opposition supporters believe Netanyahu failed to deliver, with Hamas still in charge of many parts of the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu and his coalition partners have also promised to support what they called the "wilful migration" of Gaza residents, while also deepening Israel's hold on its territories in the West Bank, which is largely considered illegal under international law. Other issues at the center of Israel's elections are the conscription of young ultraorthodox men into the military, the cost of living, and Israel's international status. Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez