Trump Claims Credit for Netanyahu's Comeback After Israeli Vote Ends in Deadlock

No clear winner emerged from Israel's election, and Donald Trump claimed credit anyway.

The US president posted on Truth Social shortly after midnight Eastern time on October 28, sharing a statement attributed to Irving C. Schwartz. The statement read: "When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a Great Prime Minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN for Netanyahu." The post closed with: "It all took place AFTER the Endorsement by President Trump, who only wants what is good for the Middle East, Israel, and the United States of America!" The statement first appeared without attribution, leading many readers to believe it was Trump's own words.

Minutes earlier, landing at Joint Base Andrews after a campaign trip to Texas, Trump had struck a different note. He said he had heard Netanyahu performed better than expected, said he had not spoken with Netanyahu since exit polls were released, and repeatedly said it was too early to draw conclusions. "I think when the endorsement went out, it, it helped him a lot," he said. He described the coalition negotiations ahead as "a big chess match."

Neither Netanyahu nor his rivals holds a parliamentary majority. Netanyahu has improved on pre-election polling, but coalition talks will determine who forms the next government.

The endorsement sits inside a wider gap between Washington and Jerusalem. Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are unhappy with the pace of implementing the president's Gaza plan, according to the source account of discussions in Washington. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his team are troubled by settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and by difficulties surrounding efforts to strengthen the Lebanese government. Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, a prominent Trump supporter, called on the eve of the election for Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to be excluded from Israel's next government, arguing they had damaged the country's international reputation.

The differences run through Syria and Lebanon. Trump has demanded Netanyahu begin withdrawing Israeli troops from Syrian territory. "They don't want you there. You should redeploy," Trump told Netanyahu, according to a US official. In June, during a visit to France, Trump publicly criticized the campaign against Hezbollah: "You can do a little softer touch, Bibi. You don't have to knock down a building every time somebody walks into it that's from Hezbollah." In April, Trump declared the United States was prohibiting Israel from continuing its bombing campaign in Lebanon, a statement that reportedly stunned Netanyahu's own office; the ceasefire agreement later preserved Israel's right to self-defense. In July, Trump announced a move allowing American airlines to resume flights to Lebanon for the first time since 1985, subject to security assessments and regulatory approvals.

Axios reported that during a June confrontation over Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Trump told Netanyahu: "You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass." Trump acknowledged he had sharply rebuked Netanyahu but did not publicly confirm every word attributed to him.

Coalition negotiations in Jerusalem will determine who forms the government. Trump has already backed Netanyahu against Israel's judicial system and in the war against Iran, and the election result now adds another entry to that ledger.