Trump delayed Netanyahu endorsement until polls showed victory – report

Netanyahu had planned for Trump’s social media post to coincide with a briefing for journalists on his security doctrine.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

President Donald Trump delayed endorsing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the upcoming elections until he received favorable polling indicating Netanyahu was likely to win, Maariv reported.

Political sources familiar with contacts between the two sides said Trump had hesitated to publicly back Netanyahu because of his previous experience endorsing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who subsequently lost an election.

According to the sources, Trump did not want to take a similar risk with another candidate before receiving indications that a victory was likely.

Netanyahu and Trump’s teams coordinated the timing of the endorsement more closely than was apparent publicly, Maariv reported.

Netanyahu had planned for Trump’s social media post to coincide with a briefing for journalists on his security doctrine.

The post was released under embargo, allowing reporters to leave the briefing with Netanyahu’s security positions accompanied by a public endorsement from the U.S. president.

Likud officials said Trump’s eventual announcement was not unexpected and that they had never doubted he would support Netanyahu ahead of the elections. Instead, they said, the uncertainty centered on when Trump would make his position public.

“The very fact that Trump had refrained until now from explicitly expressing support for Netanyahu increased the media impact of the announcement,” party officials said.

Another Likud official said Trump’s previous silence had helped magnify the significance of the endorsement when it came.

“Those who concluded from Trump’s silence that he did not intend to support Netanyahu created expectations that proved unfounded, turning an expected endorsement into a major news event,” the official said.

Political sources familiar with the contacts, however, said Trump’s delay was not simply a matter of timing. They said his experience with Orbán had made him reluctant to publicly support another candidate without first receiving polling that gave him confidence in the likelihood of a victory.