Trump Netanyahu Endorsement: ‘I Don’t Trust Anybody’
The Trump-Netanyahu endorsement question drew a blunt answer on Thursday night: asked on Newsmax whether he trusts Israel’s prime minister, President Donald Trump said “I don’t trust anybody,” while stopping short of endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s October 27 election.
Trump nevertheless described his relationship with Netanyahu as “very good” and praised what he called a “very successful” military partnership between the two countries against Iran.
‘They’d Like Me to Be’
The remarks came in a White House interview with Newsmax host Rob Finnerty, less than two weeks before Israel votes. Asked whether he planned to campaign for Netanyahu, Trump acknowledged that Israeli officials want him involved. “They’d like me to be,” he said — but he stopped short of committing to any role.
He also touted his standing with Israeli voters, claiming that “if I ran for prime minister, I’d get 99%” of them.
A Tight Race Trump Is Watching
Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc faces a closely contested election. Recent surveys show his governing bloc short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in Israel’s 120-member Knesset: one poll put the pro- and anti-Netanyahu blocs tied at 53 seats each, with Arab-led parties projected to hold the remaining 14.
Trump has repeatedly declined to commit. Earlier this week he said he hadn’t thought about an endorsement and might “do something,” and in a Time magazine interview published October 1 he also held back from backing Netanyahu, saying his priority was helping defend Israel. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has repeatedly emphasized his close ties with the president on the campaign trail.
Source: The Jerusalem Post