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With 75 days left before the Israel election, Trump has also repeatedly avoided giving the endorsement Netanyahu is seeking.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump. (AFP file)
Donald Trump has so far stopped short of endorsing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s October 27 election, even as Netanyahu’s political future looks increasingly uncertain.
According to an Axios report, when the two leaders met in the Oval Office two weeks ago, Trump asked Netanyahu how he was performing in the polls. Netanyahu paused before one of his advisers replied, “Mr. President, he is winning,” according to a US official familiar with the exchange.
But the polls do not show Netanyahu winning. With 75 days left before the election, Trump has also repeatedly avoided giving the endorsement Netanyahu is seeking, said the Axios report.
Netanyahu faces uphill election battle
Netanyahu’s current coalition is projected to win between 49 and 53 seats in surveys, well below the 68 seats it currently holds and the 61 required to form a government.
Opposition parties, meanwhile, are projected to win between 67 and 70 seats. Netanyahu’s main rival, former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, has higher favourability ratings in most polls.
Netanyahu does not necessarily need to win outright. His immediate goal is to prevent his opponents from forming a government without support from Arab-Israeli parties.
If neither side can form a government, Netanyahu could remain caretaker prime minister for several more months until another election. That remains a real possibility.
Trump-Netanyahu ties have grown strained
In the first weeks of the Iran war, some of Trump’s close advisers expected him to endorse Netanyahu. Trump was also strongly advocating for a pardon for Netanyahu to end his corruption trial.
But as the war dragged on, their foreign policy goals and domestic political interests began to move apart. Differences have emerged over Iran, Lebanon and Gaza.
Two senior US officials said Trump personally likes Netanyahu but has become frustrated with his decisions and policies. According to two people who recently spoke with Trump about Netanyahu, the US president said: “Bibi is his own worst enemy.”
The latest strain came after Netanyahu publicly rejected Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace plan for disarming Hamas.
Gaza plan adds to differences
A senior US official said the White House viewed Netanyahu’s statement as election-season politics rather than necessarily a policy declaration.
Netanyahu later spoke with Trump envoy Jared Kushner and promised to give the plan a chance, despite his doubts. He also agreed to curb attacks in Gaza to allow the demilitarisation process to begin.
Since then, Israel has carried out far fewer strikes in Gaza and the IDF has pulled back to the Yellow Line, where it was supposed to be deployed under the agreement.
Kushner is expected to travel to Israel next week to meet Netanyahu and other officials over the Gaza plan.
Netanyahu rivals urge Trump to stay neutral
Netanyahu’s political opponents, including Eizenkot and former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, are concerned Trump could eventually endorse him.
Their aides said the opposition figures sent messages to Trump and his advisers through mutual friends, donors and other political allies, asking him to remain neutral.
A former US official said Netanyahu’s weak polling numbers may have discouraged Trump from getting involved.
Trump remains popular in Israel, but his standing has declined over the past three months following his Iran deal and his decision to step back from the war after the agreement was violated. Israelis have also objected to restrictions Trump has placed on Israeli military operations in Iran, Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
Trump avoids endorsement four times
Trump has been asked four times in recent weeks whether he supports Netanyahu. Each time, he has avoided endorsing him.
In July, when radio host Hugh Hewitt asked whether there was anyone in Israel better suited for the job, Trump replied that he did not know most of Netanyahu’s opponents.
Trump has recently called Netanyahu a “great wartime prime minister”, but has referred to him in the past tense. Although Israeli officials said Trump privately raised the issue of Netanyahu’s pardon during their last meeting, he has not discussed it publicly for months.
Why the election matters to Trump
The Israeli election is important to Trump’s Middle East agenda during his final two years in office, particularly as the Iran crisis remains in a “no deal, no war” situation.
Trump wants to advance his Gaza peace plan, make progress between Israel and Lebanon, secure a security agreement between Israel and Syria and broker a historic peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Trump and his team remain wary of a repeat of Israel’s 2019 political crisis, which led to three elections and cost a year of Middle East diplomacy.
A senior US official said the White House will not repeat those mistakes or allow Israeli domestic politics to delay its regional agenda.
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18Donald Trump has not yet endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu for the October 27 Israeli election, despite Netanyahu seeking his endorsement. Trump has repeatedly avoided giving an endorsement, even though his close advisers expected him to do so earlier in the Iran war.
Ask News18About the Author
Shuddhanta Patra is an Indian journalist with about nine years of experience in covering national politics, geopolitics, defence, diplomacy and international affairs. Her reporting focuses on South As…Read More
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August 14, 2026, 6:49 PM IST
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