One day before Israelis go to the polls, President Donald Trump issued a second public endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling Israelis directly to vote for him so the two leaders can complete their campaign against Iran.
“To the people of Israel, to those who haven’t seen it,” Trump wrote Sunday evening on Truth Social, reposting the endorsement he issued a week earlier. He told voters to remember at the polls that “Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister.” He closed with a direct appeal: “Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!”
Winning together
Trump built the new post around the two leaders’ joint military record against Iran. He wrote that he and Netanyahu have had a great relationship in winning together, crediting Operation Midnight Hammer, which targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, and Operation Epic Fury, the broader US-Israeli campaign against the regime. As a result, Trump said, “Iran now has no navy, no air force,” its military and economy are in shambles, inflation has hit 301%, a naval blockade has cut off its oil, and two levels of its military and political leadership are gone.
Trump also referred to Iranian regime rallies that call Israel the “little satan” and America the “big satan,” declaring that the chant of “Death to America, Death to Israel” will no longer be heard around the world.
Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser, Ophir Falk, made the same case in written remarks to the Jerusalem Post ahead of the vote. Falk called for the removal of Iran’s regime and said Netanyahu and Trump are the team suited to achieving it, urging voters to weigh which candidate can best coordinate with the president to finish the job in Iran and expand peace in the region.
The first endorsement
The new post came one week after Trump’s first endorsement on October 18, a lengthy Truth Social letter addressed “To the Great People of Israel.”
Trump opened by praising Netanyahu as “a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace” in the fight against Iran and its decades-old chant of “Death to Israel, Death to America.” He wrote that Netanyahu has been “Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition,” including opposition from within Israel itself. “Despite all of that, he has endured and, in fact, he has thrived!” Trump wrote. He said he had watched Netanyahu under the most trying of times, when ordinary people would have wilted, but “Bibi did not wilt, he actually got stronger.”
Trump defended the joint decision to launch the war on Iran, arguing it was only a matter of time before Iran attacked both the United States and Israel. He called Netanyahu “the kind of partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel,” and tied the election directly to American policy, warning that if Israel chooses anyone other than Netanyahu, “America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so.” He also threatened to “soon finish the job” against Iran unless the regime changes its ways.
Trump closed with his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Netanyahu’s re-election bid, adding in capital letters: “BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
Netanyahu responded with a video thanking Trump. “Israel has never had a greater friend in the White House,” he said. In a follow-up phone call, Trump predicted a tremendous victory for Likud and told him, “You’re the man I want by my side, Bibi.”
Trump had withheld an endorsement for months, but he said afterward that he had always meant to endorse Netanyahu because of their good relationship. Opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot of Yashar responded that while he appreciates Trump, only Israelis will decide who their next prime minister will be.
Report of a request
The second endorsement came hours after Axios, citing an unnamed source, reported that Netanyahu had spoken with Trump twice in the previous three days and asked him to double down on his support. Likud spokeswoman Neta Molcho denied the report, saying Netanyahu had not requested campaign support from Trump, either recently or before the first endorsement.
Earlier Sunday, Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image of a nuclear explosion in Tel Aviv, warning that voting for anyone else could expose Israelis to the danger of a second Holocaust. The post argued that Israel has a limited window to confront Iran while Trump remains in office.
Not all of Washington on board
Vice President JD Vance declined to join Trump’s endorsement. “I’m not attacking Bibi Netanyahu. I’m not endorsing Bibi Netanyahu,” Vance said, adding that the president’s endorsement is what ultimately matters. Vance, who endorsed Hungary’s Viktor Orbán before his defeat in April, said he would no longer get involved in foreign elections.
The State Department signaled it is ready for any outcome. A senior official told the Jerusalem Post that the administration looks forward to continuing its close partnership with Israel’s post-election government, and that normalization between Israel and its neighbors remains a priority.
Axios, citing unnamed US officials, reported that many of Trump’s closest advisers opposed the endorsement and that some see opportunity in a government led by someone other than Netanyahu, pointing to frustrations over the Gaza peace plan, Syria, and Lebanon. Two unnamed American sources also told the Post that Netanyahu and his supporters in Trump’s inner circle pressed the president for new statements of support. The White House declined to comment on the reports, referring Axios to Trump’s endorsement.
Reactions
President Isaac Herzog, who will task a candidate with forming the next coalition after the vote, said Monday that Trump’s endorsement will not affect his decision, adding that no one can intervene in his discretion. Iran also weighed in, declaring Monday that the outcome of Israel’s election makes no difference to it.
CNN reported Monday that Netanyahu had pushed for a strike on Iran before the election and that Trump refused, while signaling that joint action would come soon. The Prime Minister’s Office denied the report.
Trump’s call to finish the job comes amid reports that renewed fighting is near. Last week, the US and Israel were reported to have drawn up plans for renewed strikes on Iran following the November 3 US midterm elections. On Sunday, Channel 12 reported that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir was resisting an order from Netanyahu for unspecified military action tied to Iran, seeking further deliberations and signed documentation of its legal authorization. Netanyahu dismissed the report as nonsense.
Election day
Israelis vote Tuesday, with 7.3 million citizens eligible to cast ballots at 18,000 ballot boxes, according to the Central Elections Committee. The average of the final four polls showed neither the Netanyahu bloc nor the opposition close to the 61 seats needed to form a government.
