Trump says he should stay out of Israeli election, but ‘may endorse’ someone

US President Donald Trump declined on Monday to endorse any Israeli candidate in the upcoming October 27 national election, but said he may do so in the future, as speculation swirled regarding an expected endorsement for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I think it’s most appropriate for me to stay out of Israeli elections, but I may endorse somebody,” Fox News reporter Trey Yingst said Trump told him in a phone call on Monday morning.

Trump has been notably close with Netanyahu in the past, although the pair have clashed over several issues in recent months, particularly those relating to Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza.

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Trump’s comments Monday followed a Friday report by Axios alleging that, during the premier’s trip to Washington last month, the president had questioned Netanyahu about his election prospects and asked how he was faring in opinion polls.

Netanyahu hesitated, an official familiar with the matter told Axios, before one of his aides answered for him, saying: “Mr. President, he is winning.”

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But most polls ahead of the October 27 election, including those conducted by The Times of Israel, have Netanyahu’s Likud neck-and-neck with or, more recently, falling behind his main challenger, Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot.

They also show Netanyahu’s coalition bloc falling to around 50 seats in the 120-member Knesset, with Eisenkot appearing better positioned to form a government.

According to Axios, Netanyahu’s poor performance in the polls is, in part, driving Trump’s hesitancy to endorse him thus far. Frustration in Washington over his recent policies regarding Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza has also played a role.

Trump has made a habit of endorsing his allies around the world in their leadership bids, and most recently endorsed Colombia’s Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office earlier this month.

Previous US leaders have avoided endorsing specific Israeli candidates.

Trump has repeatedly and publicly demanded that President Isaac Herzog grant Netanyahu a full pardon in his ongoing corruption case, but has also praised Opposition Leader Yair Lapid in the past. In June, the US president acknowledged that he would “most likely” endorse Netanyahu, but said he would have to see who he was running against first.

Although Trump has so far appeared reluctant to put his weight behind Netanyahu’s reelection bid, the premier’s rivals Eisenkot, Lapid, and Naftali Bennett have still expressed concern that he will eventually do so, according to two of the opposition leaders’ aides who spoke to Axios.

Accordingly, the opposition figures have funneled back-channel messages to Trump’s circle urging him to remain neutral, the aides said.

The two leaders have butted heads several times in recent months, with Trump reportedly deriding Netanyahu as “fucking crazy” and having “no fucking judgement,” first over Washington’s push for diplomacy with Iran that left Israel out in the cold, and more recently over Israeli military action in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Despite the public disagreements, the two men have continued to insist that they are good friends.

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