President Donald Trump is proud of his endorsement record, in which his preferred candidate has won nearly every time, but there’s one notable candidate he has not formally endorsed for reelection this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is contesting his seventh nonconsecutive term as Israel’s prime minister this October, but Trump has yet to weigh in on the prime minister’s political future.
Although Trump has publicly supported him during his corruption trial and his pursuit of a pardon, the president has not endorsed him amid disagreements regarding the wars with Iran and against terrorist organizations Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“I think it’s most appropriate for me to stay out of Israeli elections, but I may endorse somebody,” Trump told Fox News this week.
Trump’s comments come after Netanyahu this month formally rejected the president’s 15-point peace plan to permanently end Israel’s war with Hamas, with the prime minister declining to withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza until Hamas disarms.
The two men have also disagreed over Netanyahu’s strategies in the wars, particularly regarding Hezbollah, with Trump telling reporters in June that the prime minister does not have to jeopardize peace in Lebanon by “[knocking] down a building every time somebody walks into it that’s from Hezbollah.”
In addition, Trump has criticized Netanyahu’s military strikes in Syria, despite the president’s good relationship with Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, a former al Qaeda jihadist.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren said whether Trump formally endorses Netanyahu or not does not matter now that his endorsement has become a political issue.
“Either way he endorses,” Oren told the Washington Examiner. “In diplomacy, we always say no comment is also a comment. But in politics, no endorsement is also an endorsement. … Maybe he wants to hold off endorsing Netanyahu unless he gets a quid pro quo from Netanyahu.”
Though some Middle East experts contend that someone other than Netanyahu may be more amenable to peace, Elliott Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow and Trump’s former special representative to Iran, argued that “Israeli foreign policy will change little if the opposition wins.”
“On Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran there is not much difference between Bibi and Eisenkot, Bennett, [and] Liberman,” Abrams told the Washington Examiner. “Policy in the West Bank could change, meaning a tougher line against violent settlers, and internal policy might on the drafting of Haredim.”
Oren, who was a member of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, after his ambassadorship, agreed that “the issues in Israeli elections are all domestic, not foreign,” including Netanyahu’s opposition to a state commission to investigate the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and his support for exemptions for ultra-orthodox young men serving in the Israeli army.
“No Israeli prime minister is going to feel obligated by an agreement with Iran that does not remove the Iranian nuclear threat and its support for terror,” Oren said.
A poll by Israeli TV channel Channel 12 reported this week that a group of anti-Netanyahu parties would win 60 seats, one short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, while pro-Netanyahu parties would win 50 seats in the Oct. 27 election. Arab parties, which have not become part of the country’s coalition governments in the past, would win the remaining 10 seats.
Specifically, the opposition Yashar party led by Gadi Eisenkot would win 24 seats, and Likud, headed by Netanyahu, would win 22 seats.
At the same time, former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s opposition B’Yachad party would win 15, Yair Golan’s left-wing Democrats would win 11, and Avigdor Liberman’s hawkish opposition Yisrael Beytenu would win 10.
Oren added that if the parties do not form a coalition, then another election would be called and Netanyahu would continue as prime minister for “another three, four months at least.”
“My gut says that we go for a kingmaker,” he said, suggesting it could be Liberman, given that a coalition of the non-Arab, Zionist parties is unlikely because of Netanyahu. “Many of these opposition parties are saying they’ll sit with the Likud, but they won’t sit with Netanyahu as prime minister.”
And because Trump may not play kingmaker himself, Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior adviser Richard Goldberg said that “there are other indirect ways to strengthen allies who will help advance U.S. interests.”
“It’s hard to find anyone in Israel who doesn’t have a clear opinion of Netanyahu one way or the other, so I’m not really sure a formal endorsement changes any minds,” Goldberg, a first Trump administration National Security Council staffer, told the Washington Examiner. “Far more impactful is the American policy pursued, how that’s perceived by the Israeli electorate, and how much maneuvering room the White House gives Netanyahu through election day.”
Goldberg predicted reporters will likely try to “drive a wedge” between Trump and Netanyahu.
“Not taking the bait or even swatting back at the coverage is far more helpful to Netanyahu than an endorsement,” he said.
Trump did not respond to a request for comment regarding whether he planned to endorse Netanyahu, and a White House spokeswoman referred the Washington Examiner to the president’s previous comments.
Traditionally, presidents have not endorsed in foreign elections, fearing it would be criticized as foreign interference.
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But the president has endorsed an array of foreign leaders, including former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Argentine President Javier Milei, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Vice President JD Vance even traveled to Hungary in April to campaign for Orbán, and the administration last October participated in a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina that was contingent on Milei being president.