Nine days before Israeli elections, Trump finally endorses Netanyahu

Key Points:

• With just over a week before Israel’s election, President Donald Trump gave a full endorsement to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” on social media.
• The endorsement came after a period of uncertainty and a rocky relationship, with Trump previously withholding support and expressing frustration over Netanyahu’s actions, including Israel’s role in the Iran conflict.
• Trump hinted at a possible resumption of the unpopular US-Israel war with Iran if Iran does not change its behavior, while Netanyahu denied seeking escalation before the election.
• Netanyahu’s campaign had initially planned to prominently feature Trump, including awarding him the Israel Prize, but the joint US-Israel Iran war and subsequent ceasefire cooled relations and diminished Trump’s influence in Israel.
• Israeli public opinion of Trump and the US-Israel relationship has declined sharply amid the Iran war, and Trump has tried to distance himself from the conflict and Netanyahu’s political struggles.