Trump's endorsement of Benjamin Netanyahu came despite opposition from some of his closest advisers, who have grown frustrated with the Israeli prime minister.
US President Donald Trump’s advisers are reportedly optimistic about opportunities to work with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition if he loses in the upcoming election, according to US officials cited by Axios.
Trump endorsed Netanyahu on Tuesday after weeks of hesitation, with Axios noting that the US president has never worked with an Israeli prime minister other than Netanyahu and does not personally know any of the other candidates.
“[Netanyahu] is the devil [Trump] knows,” one Trump adviser told Axios.
The report also said that many of Trump's closest advisers opposed his decision to endorse Netanyahu, believing the president should stay out of the Israeli election.
In contrast, Vice President JD Vance declined to endorse Netanyahu when asked about the election this week. “I'm not attacking Bibi Netanyahu. I'm not endorsing Bibi Netanyahu… I think the president's endorsement is ultimately what matters,” Vance told reporters.
The US Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, raised concerns about the Netanyahu government's approach to Syria and continued Israeli military operations in Syria.
Following Israeli strikes on a base in Syria’s northern Idlib province, Barrack denounced the attack as an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his team have maintained a better relationship with the Prime Minister, but believe Israel could do more to strengthen Lebanon's government. They have also expressed frustration with Netanyahu's failure to do more to curb settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, Axios reported.
Final poll finds opposition increasing their lead
The report comes as Netanyahu's polling result worsens ahead of the election, with the latest Maariv poll showing the opposition bloc widening its lead to 54 seats while Netanyahu’s bloc dropped to 48.
The poll also found that 60% of respondents preferred a unity government if the October 27 election failed to produce a clear governing majority, while 23% preferred holding another election. Another 17% said they were undecided.
Of those who favored a unity government, 33% wanted a candidate from the opposition bloc to lead it, while 19% preferred Netanyahu to lead it. Another 8% favored a unity government regardless of who led it.
According to the polling results, Eisenkot led Netanyahu in a head-to-head matchup for prime minister, with 49% support compared with 41% for the incumbent.
Moshe Cohen contributed to this report.