Donald Trump told Benjamin Netanyahu he wants the Israeli prime minister by his side in a phone conversation released on Monday, after the U.S. president endorsed him ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 election.
“You’re the man I want by my side, Bibi,” Trump said in the call, which Netanyahu shared in a video on his X account on Monday, Israel National News reported.
Netanyahu had called to thank Trump for the endorsement. and he told him he had written the statement himself, called him “a warrior” and said he expected a “tremendous victory.”
Netanyahu turned the conversation to Iran. “Donald, we have a job to finish, you said it, and we’ll finish it together,” he said, according to The Times of Israel. He also spoke about expanding the Abraham Accords, the agreements that normalized ties between Israel and several Arab states.
A late endorsement from Trump
Trump posted his “Complete and Total Endorsement” on Truth Social on Sunday. He credited Netanyahu with leading the fight against Iran and wrote that if Israel picked anyone else, “America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so.”
The post marked a change in tone. When Time magazine asked him twice this month whether Netanyahu deserved another term, Trump shifted to talking about his own popularity, Al Jazeera reported.
Netanyahu needs the help. He has trailed Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff who now leads the opposition bloc, in recent surveys, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.
Eisenkot says only Israelis will decide
Eisenkot pushed back. “Those who will decide who will be the next prime minister and who will be in the next coalition are only the citizens of Israel,” he said.
Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionist Party and sits in Netanyahu’s coalition, welcomed the move. “We would do well to listen to the president of the world’s greatest power, simply because he is right,” he said.
In Washington, Brian Romick of Democratic Majority for Israel called the endorsement “irresponsible and reckless” and urged Trump to retract it. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, answered on X: “we have unfinished jobs too.”
The field shrank on Monday when Benny Gantz, chair of the Blue and White party, dropped out of the race eight days before the vote, The Times of Israel reported.
War with Iran hangs over both leaders
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, and the fighting paused in April. The war has slowed oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed up gasoline prices.
The conflict has been unpopular with American voters, JTA reported, citing Pew Research Center polling. Trump’s Republican Party faces midterm elections on Nov. 3, with control of Congress at stake.
In his post, Trump said the United States would “soon finish the job” in Iran if Netanyahu stays in charge. Israelis vote on Oct. 27.