Trump Backs Netanyahu Ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 Vote

TL;DR: Trump endorsed Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s tight Oct. 27 election, praising his stand against Iran as rival Gadi Eisenkot leads in recent polling. Netanyahu thanked Trump and pledged to keep Tehran from gaining nuclear arms. The endorsement builds on Trump’s push for a pardon in Netanyahu’s corruption case and sanctions against ICC officials over separate war crimes warrants.

President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, throwing his weight behind his longtime ally nine days before Israel’s Oct. 27 election.

The endorsement placed Iran at the center of Trump’s case for keeping Netanyahu in power. It also carried a blunt warning: Trump said any other Israeli leader would leave America to face Tehran alone.

The Associated Press reported that the endorsement came after months in which Trump had withheld his backing as the two leaders’ Middle East plans diverged.

In his Oct. 18 Truth Social post, addressed “To the Great People of Israel,” Trump praised Netanyahu’s resolve under pressure.

“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.

“Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself. Despite all of that, he has endured and, in fact, he has thrived!”

Trump cast his support as a matter of American interests as well as Israeli security.

“This is the kind of Partner that the United States of America is demanding of Israel, a Country for which it has done so much,” he 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. BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

Trump also claimed Iran had been severely weakened by military and financial pressure. He warned that unless its leaders changed course, “we will soon finish the job.”

Netanyahu welcomed the endorsement in an Oct. 18 response, which was reposted by Trump on Truth Social.

“President Trump, my friend Donald - thank you for your extraordinary endorsement. Israel has never had a greater friend in the White House.”

“Together we will never let Iran's regime get nuclear weapons. Thank you for your clarity, courage and unwavering support.”

Netanyahu faces a tight race, with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot emerging as his strongest rival. A Maariv poll conducted Oct. 14–15 among 700 adults found Eisenkot ahead 48% to 41% on who would make the better prime minister, according to The Jerusalem Post. The same survey projected 21 seats for Eisenkot’s Yashar party and 18 for Netanyahu’s Likud, while leaving both main blocs short of the 61 seats needed for a governing majority in Israel’s 120-seat parliament.

Sunday’s endorsement extends Trump’s efforts to help Netanyahu on both the political and legal fronts.

In November 2025, Trump sent Israeli President Isaac Herzog a letter urging a pardon for Netanyahu in his Israeli corruption case.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in three cases involving claims that he accepted lavish gifts and sought favorable news coverage in exchange for official favors, according to Reuters. He faces fraud and breach of trust charges over gifts from wealthy businessmen and alleged dealings with a newspaper publisher, plus bribery charges tied to claims he granted benefits to telecom giant Bezeq in return for positive coverage on its Walla news site. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing and has called the prosecution a politically driven effort to remove him from office.

Trump described the prosecution as political and unjustified, saying “While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System, and its requirements, I believe that this 'case' against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political, unjustified prosecution” in his letter to Herzog.

That case is separate from the International Criminal Court proceedings over the Gaza war.

The ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Both deny the allegations.

The warrants call for Netanyahu and Gallant to be arrested and surrendered to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Countries that belong to the court are legally required to carry out its arrest requests if either man enters their territory, though enforcement rests with national authorities. The court found Hungary in breach of that duty after it hosted Netanyahu in April 2025 without arresting him.

The ICC’s 125 member countries include Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia and Japan, along with many nations across Africa and Latin America. The United States and Israel are not members, so Washington has no obligation under the court’s founding treaty to arrest Netanyahu during his frequent visits.

Trump’s administration also rejects the warrants and has imposed sanctions against court officials rather than helping enforce them. On Feb. 6, 2025, the President signed an Executive Order imposing sanctions tied to the court’s pursuit of U.S. and allied officials. The order named ICC prosecutor Karim Khan and provided for asset freezes and entry bans.

Now Trump has added a direct appeal to Israeli voters: keep Netanyahu in power as Washington’s partner against Iran.