WASHINGTON, October 18. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump refrained from saying whether he could work with another Israeli prime minister should Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party fail at the upcoming parliamentary elections.
"Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Who wants to take the chance?" he told Axios, answering a corresponding question after stating his support for Netanyahu in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
"I was always going to do that. I just didn't want to do it too soon," he said, commenting on his endorsement of Netanyahu. According to Trump, he did this because they have a "good relationship" and would "continue to do well" together if Netanyahu is reelected.
This is the first time in the history of the US-Israel relations that a US president publicly supported a candidate in Israel’s elections, Axios noted. "If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work [in Iran] ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so," it cited Trump’s Truth Social post.
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly refused to support Netanyahu amid growing strains between the two leaders over Iran and the Gaza Strip. Some of the prime minister’s rivals have called on the American leader to remain neutral. Apart from that, Trump’s advisers believed that his Middle East agenda would be implemented more successfully if Netanyahu lost, and a different government were formed in Israel.
According to the Israeli media, in private conversations, Trump accused Netanyahu of failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Trump called Netanyahu "his own worst enemy," claiming that Netanyahu was damaging Israel’s international reputation.