New Delhi: The United States president, Donald Trump, has declined to endorse the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for another term, a notable change from the unusually close relationship the two leaders have publicly maintained. Trump and Netanyahu have repeatedly backed each other, coordinated closely on Iran and worked together during the conflict with Tehran, making Trump’s refusal to support Netanyahu’s re-election bid particularly striking.
In a recent interview with TIME, Trump was asked whether Israeli voters should give Netanyahu another term ahead of the October 27 election. Rather than endorsing his longtime ally, Trump said he was “not involved in politics anymore” and redirected the discussion towards his administration’s support for Israel.
Trump has previously described his relationship with Netanyahu as “great” and has spoken openly about the two countries’ military cooperation against Iran. In July, he said the two had fought well together and credited their joint efforts with defeating what he described as a major threat from Iran.
His latest remarks therefore stand out because Trump has continued to publicly support Israel even while declining to tell Israeli voters to return Netanyahu to office. When pressed again on whether Netanyahu should get another term, Trump instead said his priority was helping Israel defend itself.
Trump was also asked whether the US could work better with Netanyahu’s leading opposition challenger, former military chief, Gadi Eisenkot. He said he had not heard bad things about Eisenkot, but cautioned against assuming Netanyahu was finished politically, saying he would not underestimate him.
The remarks come as recent polls show a close race ahead of the October 27 Knesset elections. Anadolu Ajansı, citing an Israeli Channel 12 poll published Wednesday, reported that Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party was projected to win 23 seats, compared with 20 for Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. Eisenkot’s bloc was projected to get 54 seats and Netanyahu’s bloc 50, while 16 seats were projected to go to parties not aligned with either bloc.
Trump on October 7 warning
Trump also pushed back on reports that Netanyahu had been warned before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Asked about claims that Egypt and the UAE had alerted Israel to the possibility of an attack, Trump said he was hearing about the reports for the first time.
When asked whether Netanyahu had known about the impending assault, Trump replied, “I don’t think so.” He then said, “I can’t imagine this,” when asked whether Netanyahu would have ignored such a warning.
Trump described October 7 as a “terrible day” and said he could not imagine Netanyahu knowingly ignoring such a warning. His comments came as he was questioned about reports concerning warnings allegedly passed to Israel before the Hamas assault.
Trump says will continue Iran war
Trump said he had initially reached the timeline he had set for the operation but then decided not to stop. According to Trump, he believed Iran could eventually rebuild its military and nuclear capabilities in another form, prompting him to continue the campaign.
“I could have stopped then, but I wanted to go further,” Trump said, referring to the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. He claimed the attacks had severely damaged Iran’s military infrastructure and said Tehran was now seeking a deal with Washington. Trump’s comments are significant because they present the prolonged conflict partly as a result of his own decision to continue military operations after the initial phase of the military activity.
The war began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February and has since continued through repeated rounds of strikes and attempts at diplomacy. According to reports Washington and Tehran have continued indirect talks through mediators in recent days.
Asked why the war had gone on far longer than the period Americans had expected, Trump rejected the idea that he had broken an earlier promise about its duration. He compared the conflict with previous long-running US wars and said the situation in Iran was different because of the scale of the country and the distance involved.
Trump also claimed that Iran’s economy had been devastated and that its navy, air force and radar systems had been heavily damaged. Those updates were presented by Trump in the interview and were not independently established in his remarks.
Trump leaves door open to more strikes
Trump further indicated that the conflict could intensify. Asked whether he was considering renewed or heavier bombing after the US midterm elections, he said it was “possible” but declined to discuss potential targets.
He said the US had been building up its ammunition supplies and expanding production capacity after months of military operations. Trump dismissed reports of significant US munitions shortages, while acknowledging that supplies of some types of ammunition were lower than others.
At the same time, diplomatic efforts with Iran remain underway. Trump has rejected elements of Tehran’s proposals but has left the door open to further negotiations.