Trump Says Netanyahu Did Not Ask For New Endorsement Before Israeli Vote
US officials and Axios reported the Israeli prime minister sought additional support after an earlier endorsement failed to move polls.
By Bianca Shevchenko ·
President Donald Trump said on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not asked him for another endorsement of his candidacy in Israel's approaching election. Speaking to reporters as he boarded Air Force One en route to a campaign rally in Mississippi, Trump was asked directly whether Netanyahu had requested a second statement of support. "I never spoke about it," Trump replied. He added, "I put out both endorsements. I put out both," and said Netanyahu has done "a very good job as prime minister under very trying conditions."
That account conflicts with what US officials told the Jerusalem Post. Those officials said Netanyahu had been working intensively to persuade Trump to issue another public statement backing him, after an earlier endorsement produced no significant shift in the polls. Axios separately reported that Netanyahu spoke with Trump twice in three days and asked him to reinforce his public support. Axios also reported that Netanyahu suggested wording for a further endorsement and asked Trump to speak with Israeli journalists about it. The Likud party denied that Netanyahu had requested the president's endorsement.
The exchange took place as Israel's election approaches and as Trump heads to a campaign rally in Mississippi. Trump has issued endorsements in the race before, which he referred to in his remarks to reporters. He did not commit to issuing anything further.
During the same conversation, Trump was asked about Brazil's presidential election, where incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Trump declined to say whether he would act on the result. "I'm not running Brazil. I'm running the USA," he said. He also criticized how the vote was counted. "I like Lula. I get along with him very well," Trump said. "I just think it had a very bad look. The election, the way it was tabulated." He said the added time for voting "was very strange." Those remarks followed a decision by Brazil's Supreme Court to extend voting by two hours in the second round after complaints of public transport disruptions.
No further endorsement of Netanyahu has been announced.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
