President Donald Trump told Israeli public broadcaster Kan that he will likely support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections, but added that he needs to see who the challengers are. The statement marks Trump's clearest signal of backing for the Israeli premier to date, recorded by a Kan journalist on Thursday afternoon.
President Donald Trump told Israeli public broadcaster Kan on Thursday that he will likely support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel's upcoming elections — the clearest direct endorsement yet from the US president.
"I'll likely support Netanyahu in the elections, but I need to see who's running," Trump told a Kan journalist, according to the broadcaster's report. The remark was made Thursday afternoon and was quoted verbatim by Kan.
The statement comes amid a series of recent Trump comments about Israel that our desk has tracked as background — including prior general remarks about reaching a deal and vowing "help is on the way" — but without a direct electoral endorsement. This is the first on-record statement from Trump tying his support specifically to Netanyahu's candidacy, and with a condition that leaves room for a change of position depending on the opposition lineup.
As The Zioneer reported on June 10, political analysts have assessed that Netanyahu's campaign is counting on Trump's backing but that Trump's popularity among the Israeli public has been declining. Thursday's statement appears to address that calculus directly, though the condition attached to the endorsement leaves it open-ended.
No further details were provided on which election cycle Trump was referring to, or whether the statement reflected coordination with Netanyahu's campaign.
4 developments
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- DevelopingTrump: Netanyahu will have no choice but to accept any Iran agreement
Source and signal
- Internal intake