Trump calls Netanyahu ‘his own worst enemy,’ refuses to endorse him – report

President Trump reportedly holds back on endorsing Prime Minister Netanyahu ahead of first election since October 7 invasion, calling Netanyahu “his own worst enemy.”

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump has so far declined to endorse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reelection and has privately described the Israeli leader as his “own worst enemy,” according to a new report, marking a notable shift as Netanyahu heads into a difficult October election campaign.

“Bibi is his own worst enemy,” Trump recently told people who discussed Netanyahu with him, Axios reported, citing two people familiar with the president’s comments.

The remark has not been made publicly by Trump and was not independently confirmed.

The apparent hesitation is particularly significant because Trump had indicated only two months ago that he was inclined to support Netanyahu.

In a June interview with Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, Trump said, “I’ll have to look at who’s running, but I like Bibi very much. I would be most likely to endorse him.”

Since then, however, political and strategic disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem have grown, while Netanyahu’s position in some Israeli opinion polls has weakened.

The issue reportedly came up directly when Netanyahu visited the White House on July 28.

Trump asked the prime minister how he was doing in the polls, according to Axios. Netanyahu paused before an adviser intervened.

“Mr. President, he is winning,” the aide said, according to a US official familiar with the exchange.

Polling at the time showed a considerably more complex picture for Netanyahu.

Most surveys conducted then and since have shown the right-wing bloc at a serious disadvantage.

A Maariv survey then projected the parties in Netanyahu’s coalition bloc at 49 seats — 12 short of the 61 required for a Knesset majority.

A more recent poll cited by The Jerusalem Post put the bloc at 48.

Only polls conducted by Shlomo Filber on behalf of Channel 14 have consistently shown Netanyahu and his right-wing allies with a Knesset majority.

A survey published Thursday by Zman Yisrael put former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party at 25 seats and Netanyahu’s Likud at 21. Netanyahu-aligned parties received a combined 50 seats, while parties opposed to him received 58 and the Arab parties 12.

The election is scheduled for October 27 and will be Israel’s first national vote since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and the ensuing wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Netanyahu’s ability to portray himself as uniquely capable of managing relations with Trump has long been an important element of his political appeal.

That makes an endorsement — or the lack of one — potentially valuable campaign material as Netanyahu seeks another term.

Trump has previously been willing to involve himself in Netanyahu’s political fortunes.

Long before entering the White House, he recorded an endorsement for Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s 2013 election, describing him as a “terrific guy” and “terrific leader.”

Netanyahu’s opponents are sufficiently concerned about Trump intervening this year that representatives of Eisenkot, former prime minister Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid have sent messages through back channels urging Trump’s circle not to endorse Netanyahu, Axios reported.

Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly avoided giving Netanyahu the unequivocal public backing the Israeli premier appears to be seeking.

When conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt asked him in July whether anyone in Israel was better suited to lead than Netanyahu, Trump said he did not know most of Netanyahu’s rivals well enough to make such a judgment.

Two senior US officials told Axios that Trump still likes Netanyahu personally but has become increasingly frustrated with some of his decisions, particularly over Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

The latest point of friction has been Trump’s plan for Gaza.

Trump announced last month that progress had been made toward implementing a 15-point framework involving Hamas disarmament, an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of an international stabilization force alongside a new Palestinian security structure.

Netanyahu publicly pushed back against the proposal on August 9, declaring that Israel would not withdraw its forces before Hamas had fully surrendered its weapons.

“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said, insisting that disarmament had to include all of Hamas’s weaponry.

The public rejection came despite signs that Israel was quietly cooperating with elements of the US-backed process.

A senior US official told Axios that the White House interpreted Netanyahu’s rhetoric partly as election politics rather than a definitive break with the plan.

Netanyahu had spoken with Trump envoy Jared Kushner days earlier and agreed to give the proposal an opportunity to work, according to the report.

Israeli military activity in Gaza subsequently declined and IDF forces pulled back to the Yellow Line contemplated under the agreement.

Netanyahu has simultaneously sought to convince Israeli voters that he is not simply following Washington’s orders. Addressing his cabinet last week, he said Israel knew “how to stand our ground even against our very best friends when necessary.”

That balancing act has become increasingly difficult as Trump presses Israel for restraint on several fronts.

Reuters reported that Trump used unusually harsh language toward Netanyahu during the exchange, while Israeli officials acknowledged that the leak was politically damaging to the prime minister.

A US official nevertheless told Reuters that the two remained friends and allies, describing their conversations as unusually candid. A former Netanyahu adviser similarly cautioned against interpreting their disputes as a fundamental rupture.

The disagreements also extend to Iran.

Netanyahu has favored maintaining military pressure after the months-long conflict, while Trump has sought an arrangement capable of ending the confrontation.