President Trump's public endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the upcoming elections in Israel was already unprecedented for a sitting American President when he first issued it on Oct.18. And so it is raising eyebrows that Trump has issued yet another full-throated statement endorsing him, just within 48 hours of the high stakes vote in Israel.
Sunday night saw Trump put out a second statement, saying that the US and Israel need to "finish the job" against Iran. It comes amid reports Washington and Tel Aviv have been planning a round three major bombing campaign.
"To the people of Israel, to those who haven’t seen it, I am attaching the Endorsement I gave one week ago to your Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu. As everyone is aware, including the enemy, Bibi and I have had a great relationship in winning together," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post which actually borrows heavily from the original endorsement post.
"I did the Venezuelan attack, one of the most successful military operations in history but, before that, we did Operation Midnight Hammer, stopping the world’s number one state sponsor of terror from obtaining a nuclear weapon."
"When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister! Israel was called The Little Satan, with the United States being called The Big Satan, by some very evil people. There can no longer be the chant heard around the World of ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’ and there won’t be. Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started," Trump added.
Axios is reporting that an embattled Netanyahu essentially begged his ally in Washington to do more to keep him in office:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — fighting for political survival in Tuesday's elections — has pleaded with President Trump in recent days to show more public support for his campaign, according to a U.S. source with knowledge and an Israeli source briefed on the matter.
The U.S. source said the White House sees Netanyahu's aggressive lobbying as a "sign of desperation" and an indication that the Israeli leader thinks he's trailing.
Indeed polls show Netanyahu's Likud is trailing main rival, Gadi Eisenkot and his Yashar party.
But neither of the two major blocs is believed yet to be able to take enough seats to secure a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
Rather than face defeat, there's growing speculation that Netanyahu could launch a new Iran attack before tomorrow's vote as a big distraction - given also the historical pattern of Netanyahu engaging in wars while staying in power.
On Sunday Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image depicting a nuclear explosion in Tel Aviv. He claimed that anyone else taking power would subject Israelis to the danger of a "second Holocaust."
Netanyahu also warned that that future generations "will not forgive us if we miss this historic window of opportunity" - and that Iran must be dealt with while Trump is still in office.
As a reminder, 77-year old "Bibi" has led Israel for nearly 19 of the past 30 years, and he's constantly emphasized security, in many ways becoming a kind of permanent wartime prime minister. He's overseen the decimation of Gaza in the wake of the Oct.7 attack, and wars in Lebanon, Syria, and occasional strikes on Yemen. The Iran war remains the biggest conflict he's overseen, which has seen ballistic missiles and drones rain down on Israeli cities and bases as part of previous Iranian retaliation waves.