U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday publicly urged Israeli voters to re-elect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posting a direct appeal on Truth Social just two days before Israel’s Oct. 27 national election and tying the vote to the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
The post, timestamped 5:58 p.m. on Oct. 25, is addressed to the people of Israel and re-attaches the formal endorsement letter Trump issued a week earlier. In full, it reads:
“To the people of Israel, to those who haven’t seen it, I am attaching the Endorsement I gave one week ago to your Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu. As everyone is aware, including the enemy, Bibi and I have had a great relationship in winning together. I did the Venezuelan attack, one of the most successful Military Operations in History but, before that, we did Operation Midnight Hammer, stopping the World’s Number One State Sponsor of Terror from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. Then we did Operation Epic Fury, and Iran now has No Navy, No Air Force, and both their Military and Economy are in shambles, including the fact that Iran’s Inflation is at 301%. The Naval Blockade has precluded them from getting Oil, and two levels of leadership, both Military and otherwise, are gone. When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister! Israel was called The Little Satan, with the United States being called The Big Satan, by some very evil people. There can no longer be the chant heard around the World of “Death to America, Death to Israel,” and there won’t be. Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
In the post, Trump credited the two leaders’ partnership with a series of military actions: the Venezuelan operation, Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury. The figures and battlefield claims, including the 301 percent inflation rate and the assertion that Iran has lost its navy and air force, are Trump’s own characterizations, and the post does not cite an independent source for them.
The Oct. 18 Endorsement Letter
The attached endorsement, published on Oct. 18 at 9:45 a.m., is addressed “To the Great People of Israel” and was accompanied by a short video released by Netanyahu’s Likud party showing clips of the two leaders together. Its full text reads:
“To the Great People of Israel:
Bibi Netanyahu has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran, with its 51 year old chant, “Death to Israel, Death to America! We will destroy the Little Satan and the Big Satan.” What Country can survive when things such as this are allowed to be said, because eventually, they always end up being true? It would have been only a question of time until Iran would have put that ominous phrase into effect, but they have been systematically destroyed, both Militarily and Financially, and unless they change their ways, rapidly, we will soon finish the job. 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. 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! I have watched Bibi under the most trying of times. Normal men or women in such situations would have wilted under the pressure — But Bibi did not wilt, he actually got stronger, and maintains that same Strength today. 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. 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! Thank you for your attention to this matter.
DONALD J. TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”
The letter contained a conditional warning that has since become the most closely watched line of the endorsement. Trump wrote that if Israel chooses someone other than Netanyahu, the United States “will have to do this work ourselves,” adding that he is “not inclined to do so.” He also said Iran would face a finishing blow “unless they change their ways, rapidly.”
Netanyahu and His Rival Respond
Netanyahu thanked Trump publicly after the Oct. 18 letter, writing on X, “Together we will complete the mission!” In a separate statement he said there has never been a greater friend of Israel in the White House. His main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief who leads the centre-right Yashar party, said he respects Trump and appreciates what he has done for Israel, but that only Israelis can choose who runs their country.
A Close Race After Oct. 7
The Oct. 27 vote is Israel’s first national election since the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, and roughly seven million Israelis are eligible to cast ballots. Opposition figures, including Eisenkot, have accused Netanyahu of bearing personal responsibility for the attack, and the race is widely viewed as a referendum on his leadership. Most polls show his coalition falling short of the 61 seats needed for a majority. If no bloc secures one, Netanyahu could remain in office as a caretaker prime minister while the country waits for another election.
An Unusual Step for a U.S. President
A sitting U.S. president campaigning openly for a foreign leader breaks with a long-standing American diplomatic tradition, though Trump has done so before, endorsing candidates in elections in Hungary, Colombia, Argentina, Japan and Honduras. In Israel’s case, the stakes are heightened by the country’s reliance on Washington for military and diplomatic backing, and Israeli political leaders have long treated a close relationship with whoever occupies the White House as a major electoral asset.
How Much It Could Matter
Analysts have offered differing assessments of the endorsement’s likely effect. David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said Netanyahu is a polarizing figure and that few voters remain undecided, making a large impact uncertain. Tamar Hermann of the Israel Democracy Institute said the late endorsement could help win back wavering Netanyahu voters but is unlikely to draw broad support. Israeli public approval of Trump has also fallen amid disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem over Iran.
The Iran War Behind the Endorsement
The military record Trump cited is central to the endorsement. The United States launched Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28 alongside Israeli airstrikes, which Israel calls Operation Roaring Lion, targeting Iranian officials, military commanders and facilities. In his announcement of the strikes, Trump said the objective was to destroy Iran’s capabilities, and told Iranians that once the operation was finished they should “take over your government.” Operation Midnight Hammer, which Trump also cited, refers to the June 2025 U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Why Iran Is the Heart of the Message
Trump’s framing places Iran’s long-running rhetoric at the center of the case for Netanyahu. In the Oct. 18 letter he described the “Death to Israel, Death to America” chant as a threat that “eventually” becomes true, and in the Oct. 25 post he declared that the chant “won’t” continue. Netanyahu has made the same link in his campaign, saying in a Likud video that he and Trump together “crushed Iran” and that re-election would allow them to work toward eliminating the Iranian threat.
A Relationship With Its Own Strains
The endorsement came after weeks of speculation that it might not arrive. Trump hosted Netanyahu in the Oval Office this summer without backing his re-election, and in June he acknowledged a heated phone call with the prime minister in which he voiced frustration over Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The two leaders also appeared together at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 29, 2025. Trump later said the endorsement was never in doubt.
Trump’s Remarks After the First Endorsement
In comments after the Oct. 18 letter, Trump said he backed Netanyahu because the two have a good relationship, adding, “It is important that Israel has a person they can count on.” Asked whether he could work with another Israeli leader, he said, “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Who wants to take the chance?”
A Call Aired by the Prime Minister
On Oct. 19, Netanyahu released a recording of a phone call with Trump in which the president predicted he would win and suggested the two countries might again attack Iran together. Trump called Netanyahu “a warrior” during the exchange, and Netanyahu raised the possibility of expanding the Abraham Accords, the 2020 agreements in which the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalized relations with Israel.
What Comes Next
Israelis vote on Tuesday. Trump’s Oct. 25 post leaves little ambiguity about his position: the endorsement stands, he links Netanyahu’s re-election to completing the campaign against Iran, and he has said the United States is not inclined to take up that work alone. Whether the message moves enough voters in a tight contest will be known when the ballots are counted.