WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a move that comes as Netanyahu fights for his political survival ahead of the country’s legislative elections later this month.
“Bibi Netanyahu has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Oct. 18. “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.”
In February, Trump and Netanyahu jointly launched a war against Iran that has now continued for nearly eight months. The two leaders have vowed to not let Iran develop a nuclear weapon.
Trump asked Israeli
voters to support Netanyahu and his right-wing political party Likud when they cast their ballots on Oct. 27, ending weeks of uncertainty about whether he would publicly back his longtime ally on the international stage.
Netanyahu is in the fight for his political life as he tries to overcome immense backlash at home to several long-running corruption scandals and Israeli security failures that preceded Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Israel has also been accused of genocide by several domestic and international human rights groups over the war in Gaza, and the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in the territory.
The biggest threat to Netanyahu extending his tenure as the long-serving prime minister of Israel is Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces. Eisenkot’s centrist political party Yashar has risen in the polls as Netanyahu struggles to overcome rising discontent in Israel.
The U.S. president had declined to issue an endorsement of Netanyahu in recent weeks. During an interview with Time Magazine, Trump repeatedly refused to say whether Israeli voters should give Netanyahu another term in office.
No world leader has enjoyed a closer relationship with Trump than Netanyahu. The first Trump administration also handed Netanyahu a series of political victories. The U.S. recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017. Two years later, Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.
Trump, however, has grown frustrated with Netanyahu in recent months. The Israeli leader has authorized strikes in Gaza and Lebanon in contrast with the Trump administration’s peace-making efforts.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump endorses Benjamin Netanyahu days before Israel election
