Trump shares poll showing Netanyahu bloc taking lead

Despite their close relationship and Trump’s frequent praise for Netanyahu’s leadership during Israel’s recent wars, the president has conspicuously avoided giving the Israeli premier an unqualified endorsement.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump shared a report Wednesday showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political bloc moving ahead of its main rivals in Israel’s upcoming election, a notable intervention after months in which the US president has repeatedly stopped short of formally endorsing his longtime Israeli ally.

Trump posted a Newsmax article titled “Netanyahu Bloc Takes Lead in Latest Israeli Election Poll” to his Truth Social account without adding any commentary. The article reported on a Channel 13 survey showing parties aligned with Netanyahu narrowly overtaking the opposing Zionist bloc ahead of Israel’s October 27 election.

The post does not amount to an explicit endorsement of Netanyahu, but comes after months of speculation over whether Trump would weigh in on the Israeli election and whom he would support.

Despite their close relationship and Trump’s frequent praise for Netanyahu’s leadership during Israel’s recent wars, the president has conspicuously avoided giving the Israeli premier an unqualified endorsement.

In June, Trump said he would “most likely” endorse Netanyahu but added that he first wanted to see who else was running.

When asked directly in July whether Netanyahu should be reelected, Trump again praised the Israeli leader without explicitly backing his candidacy.

“He’s been a great wartime president,” Trump said, referring to Netanyahu. “We work with each other very closely.”

“I don’t know anything about his politics,” Trump added. “I’m not sure. I would think he should be popular because he did a very good job.”

Later that month, Trump was asked whether anyone in Israel was better suited than Netanyahu to lead the country. Rather than directly endorsing him, Trump responded, “I don’t know most of them,” before again praising Netanyahu’s wartime leadership and their relationship.

Trump became even more explicit about his reluctance to enter the race in August.

“I think it’s most appropriate for me to stay out of Israeli elections, but I may endorse somebody,” Trump told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst. He did not specify whom he might eventually support.

Axios reported around the same time that during Netanyahu’s July 28 visit to the White House, Trump asked the prime minister how he was performing in the polls. Netanyahu reportedly paused before an adviser interjected, “Mr. President, he is winning.” The outlet reported that Trump liked Netanyahu personally but had been frustrated by disagreements involving Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Trump has nevertheless continued to praise Netanyahu on other occasions, particularly his wartime leadership, and the two have maintained frequent contact on regional security issues. His decision to highlight a favorable development for Netanyahu’s bloc therefore stands out against his previous reluctance to publicly take sides in the election.

The Channel 13 poll shared indirectly by Trump showed Netanyahu’s bloc winning 54 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, compared with 52 for the opposing Zionist bloc. Arab parties were projected to hold the remaining 14 seats. The survey questioned 886 respondents and had a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.

The result represented a shift from earlier Channel 13 polling, although neither major bloc was projected to reach the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority. A previous Channel 13 survey had the two blocs tied at 53 seats each, while other recent surveys have produced different results.

The apparent improvement for Netanyahu’s camp also came despite a poor showing for his Likud party itself.

Channel 13 projected Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar as the largest individual party with 22 seats, while Likud fell to 18, its lowest result in a Channel 13 poll. Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad received 12 seats and Yair Golan’s Democrats 10.

On the right, the joint Religious Zionism-Zehut slate led by Bezalel Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin was projected to win eight seats, as were Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit and Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu. The Joint Arab List was also projected at eight seats.

The poll therefore did not give Netanyahu a straightforward path to another government. Even at 54 seats, parties identified with his bloc would remain seven short of a Knesset majority, making post-election coalition negotiations potentially decisive.

Under Israel’s system, the president consults the parties elected to the Knesset after an election and then assigns the task of forming a government to the lawmaker he believes has the best chance of assembling a governing coalition. Leading the largest bloc does not automatically guarantee that Netanyahu would receive the first mandate to form a government.

Still, Trump’s decision to personally circulate a report emphasizing Netanyahu’s improved position adds a new element to a campaign the US president had previously said it was “most appropriate” for him to stay out of.

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