Trump takes credit for Netanyahu’s election boost after endorsement

US president says ‘whole tide turned’ after he backed PM, touts ‘big come-from-behind’ as votes continue to be counted, with neither Netanyahu nor opposition bloc reaching majority

By Jacob Magid and ToI Staff Today, 10:10 am
US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he arrives on Air Force One, October 28, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday credited his endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for boosting the premier in the Knesset election, as partial results showed Netanyahu’s bloc leading its rivals but still short of a governing majority.

“‘When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a great prime minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN for Netanyahu. It all took place AFTER the endorsement by President Trump, who only wants what is good for the Middle East, Israel, and the United States of America!’” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The entire post was written as a quote, and it was unclear whether Trump was quoting an analyst he had heard on cable TV news or speaking about himself in the third person.

Trump was separately asked by reporters about the Israeli election after attending a rally in Texas. “From exit polls, I’m hearing [Netanyahu] was doing very well. I think when the endorsement went out, it had helped him a lot,” Trump said. Asked whether he had spoken to Netanyahu since the results began coming in, the president said he had not.

Trump formally endorsed Netanyahu on October 18, nine days before the election, offering the premier his “complete and total endorsement” in a Truth Social post and calling him a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” and a key US partner in confronting Iran. Trump said that any alternative Israeli leader would leave Washington to deal with Iran without the same partnership.

Trump’s endorsement came after he said a few days prior to his post that he had not “even thought about” backing a candidate in the Israeli election, while leaving open the possibility that he could do so.

Netanyahu quickly embraced the endorsement, releasing campaign material highlighting Trump’s praise and urging voters to take the US president’s words into account. He stressed that he and Trump had unfinished business on Iran and the Abraham Accords.

“Donald, we have a job to finish [in Iran]… and we’ll finish it together. We’ll finish it, and no one else will do it,” Netanyahu said, apparently speaking from an air force base, in a video posted to his X account.

As of 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, with 66.2% of ballot boxes counted, partial results released by the Central Elections Committee gave the pro-Netanyahu bloc 56 seats and the anti-Netanyahu bloc 48. The predominantly Arab parties held a combined 16 seats.

The figures left Netanyahu’s bloc five seats short of the 61 needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The opposition bloc was also well short of a majority on its own, leaving the Arab parties potentially significant to the eventual coalition arithmetic.

The results remain partial and are expected to change as counting continues. Votes cast in double envelopes, including those of soldiers, were to be counted later. The Reservists, People of Israel and Charedi Public parties all stood below the 3.25% electoral threshold.

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