Trump endorses embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection

PBS NewsHour · CBS News and CBS News report that President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection on Sunday, a sought-after lift that Trump had withheld for months as their Middle East strategies diverged. In a social media post, Trump called Netanyahu a "Great Warrior Prime Minister" and said that if Israel chose anyone else, America would have to handle Iran itself, which he was not inclined to do.

Likud supplemented Netanyahu's online thanks with a 35-second montage of the pair, including Trump's praise. Voters will choose Oct. 27, the first time since Hamas struck on Oct. 7, 2023. Both outlets say the endorsement's effect in an expected close race is unclear. Trump remains popular in Israel, yet many there, commentators among them, are disappointed by the Iran war's inconclusive result.

PBS NewsHour · CBS News adds that Trump has backed leaders abroad before, including Hungary's Viktor Orbán, who lost, and that the two men clashed during the war. Trump faulted an Israeli strike on an Iranian gas field and in June called Netanyahu crazy. CBS News adds that Netanyahu leads the most nationalist and far-right government in Israel's history.

Summarized by PolitiKool from PBS NewsHour · CBS News and CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at PBS NewsHour · CBS News → Also at CBS News →