Trump endorses Netanyahu nine days before Israel's tight October 27 election

US President Donald Trump has endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for re-election, nine days before Israel votes on 27 October 2026. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, 18 October, Trump called Netanyahu "a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran". He warned: "If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so." The endorsement reversed Trump's position of only days earlier, when he declined in a television interview on Thursday to back any candidate. Opinion polls show a tight race in which neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition is close to a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

A US president openly backing one candidate in another democracy's election is unusual, and in Israel, where the American alliance is central to security, it carries real weight. Trump's message was not only praise. It was framed as a warning that American help against Iran depends on who leads Israel. That gives Netanyahu a powerful argument to put to voters worried about Iran, and gives his opponents an argument that a foreign leader is trying to choose Israel's prime minister.

The timing reflects how close the race is. Polls have for weeks shown Likud and Eisenkot's Yashar trading first place, with both blocs short of the 61 seats needed to form a government. Israelis vote for party lists, not for a prime minister directly, so the result will depend on which leader can stitch together a coalition after the vote. Even a small shift of a few seats between blocs could decide whether Netanyahu stays in office.

The endorsement also shows how Middle East policy has become personal politics. Reports say Trump had held back his support for months as his and Netanyahu's approaches to the region diverged. His decision to back Netanyahu now, and to tie it to Iran, signals that confronting Tehran remains at the centre of Washington's thinking. That matters for the wider region, including the Gulf, where shipping attacks and conflict have already pushed oil prices up.

For India, which has close defence, technology and trade ties with Israel and large energy and diaspora interests across the Gulf, the outcome will shape a key partnership and the regional stability that its economy depends on. Whoever forms the next Israeli government will inherit those relationships, but the direction of Israel's policy on Iran will affect the whole region.

Short-term: Netanyahu's campaign will use the endorsement in its final week, while rivals will accuse him of relying on foreign backing. Polls in the coming days will show whether it changes votes.

Long-term: If Netanyahu returns to power, close coordination with Washington on Iran is likely to continue. If the opposition wins, Trump's open support for Netanyahu could make the start of relations with a new Israeli government more awkward.

Who is affected: Israeli voters and parties; the United States and its policy on Iran; countries across the Middle East and the Gulf; and partners of Israel such as India that depend on regional stability.

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