Trump Endorses Netanyahu Nine Days Before Israeli Vote and Says US Will 'Soon Finish the Job' on Iran Unless Tehran Changes Course

Since the U.S. and Israel opened the war on Iran in February, Trump has kept a careful distance from Israeli politics. On Sunday, Oct. 18, he dropped it.

In a Truth Social post addressed "To the Great People of Israel," Trump wrote: "Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-election as Prime Minister of Israel." He called Netanyahu a "Great Warrior Prime Minister" and an "even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Netanyahu answered on X shortly afterward: "Thank you, President Trump, for the tremendous support and the joint work. Together we will complete the mission!"

The warning to Israeli voters

The endorsement came with a condition attached. "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 wrote.

He also said Iran has been "systematically destroyed, both Militarily and Financially," and added: "Unless they change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job." He did not say what further action he has in mind.

That sits awkwardly beside his own recent record. Earlier this month Trump said the U.S. would not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterms and described Washington and Tehran as having "productive discussions."

A reversal on Israeli politics

Trump had held off until Sunday. He told Time earlier this month, "I'm not involved in [Israeli] politics anymore." On Thursday, in an interview with Newsmax, he said he has "a very good relationship" with Netanyahu but did not endorse him again. Asked whether he trusts Netanyahu, he answered: "I don't trust anybody in the world of politics."

The relationship has been strained. Trump called Netanyahu "crazy" during a heated June phone call over disagreements on Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. The two met at the White House in August without cameras, and they did not meet when Netanyahu was in New York for the UN General Assembly in September.

Netanyahu's highway billboards are back this campaign, but without Trump on them, as they were in earlier races. Trump does appear in some Likud videos.

In the endorsement itself, Trump acknowledged the friction only obliquely, saying Netanyahu has been "brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself."

Netanyahu says Israel can go alone

Separately on Sunday, Netanyahu presented an updated national security doctrine, according to Israel Hayom. "The objectives I set do not depend on American approval," he said. "To the extent necessary, we will also act independently. We have done so before, and if necessary, we will do so again."

He called confronting Iran his "life's mission," said a nuclear-armed Iran is Israel's greatest threat, and argued Israel must "prevent the enemy from delivering the first blow." He put the work at "90% done," pointing to Iran's economic crisis and recent protests.

Last week Axios reported that Netanyahu raised intelligence suggesting Tehran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program, and that he and Trump discussed a possible new military operation.

Netanyahu's own words sit uneasily next to Trump's framing. Trump says America would be left to do the work alone if Netanyahu loses. Netanyahu says Israel does not need American approval to act.

The race and the midterms

Polls cited by the Forward show neither Netanyahu's right-wing coalition nor the opposition certain to reach the 61 seats needed in the 120-seat Knesset. Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff whose son was killed in the Gaza war, is Netanyahu's chief rival. He has floated a path to government that does not require a Knesset majority. Avigdor Lieberman, a partner in the anti-Netanyahu bloc, has said he would oppose that. His party is polling at an average of eight or nine seats, which gives him leverage over who leads the government.

Israelis vote for party lists, and a party must clear a 3.25% threshold to win seats. After the vote, President Isaac Herzog consults party leaders and tasks a Knesset member with building a coalition.

The politics cut both ways in Washington. The war has slowed oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed gasoline prices up, and it has been unpopular with American voters. It is often cited as a reason Republicans could lose House and Senate races on Nov. 3. Trump's endorsement ties him more visibly to a foreign leader whose Iran policy is part of that fight.

Two dates now frame the next steps: Israel's election on Oct. 27 and the U.S. midterms a week later. What Trump means by "finish the job," and whether that comes before or after Nov. 3, remains unanswered.