Trump declines to endorse Netanyahu in Israeli election — Jerusalem Post

US President Donald Trump declined to support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign in the upcoming Knesset elections. In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday, he said that people would like to see him involved in the election campaign, but added that he does not trust anyone, including in the world of politics.

Trump’s statements on the elections

As The Jerusalem Post reports, Trump also spoke of his popularity among Israelis. According to him, people in Israel allegedly say that if he ran for prime minister, he would receive the support of 99% of them.

The US president called the military partnership between Israel and the United States very successful, and his relationship with Netanyahu very good.

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Previous comments on candidates

This is not the first time Trump has not expressed direct support for Netanyahu ahead of an election. On Tuesday, when asked by journalists about possibly endorsing a candidate, he said that the issue had not yet been considered, but did not rule out doing something.

Earlier this month, in an interview with Time, Trump noted that Netanyahu had been “written off” many times, as had he himself, but at the same time said that he was no longer involved in politics. In the same interview, he said that he had not heard bad things about Gadi Eisenkot, one of Netanyahu’s main rivals in the upcoming election.

In September, Trump shared a Channel 13 poll according to which Netanyahu’s bloc could win 54 seats in the Knesset. According to the poll, Eisenkot’s Yashar would have 22 seats, while Netanyahu’s Likud would have 18.