Trump says he ‘doesn’t trust anybody’ when asked about Netanyahu

Trump has not endorsed a candidate in Israel’s October 27 election.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he “doesn’t trust anybody” in politics when asked whether he trusts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while pointing to their successful military cooperation against Iran.

Newsmax host Rob Finnerty asked Trump whether he might become involved in Israel’s October 27 election, in which Netanyahu is seeking an additional term as prime minister.

“Well, they’d like me to be. Yeah, they’d like me to be,” Trump replied. “Look, I’ve had a very good relationship with him. We’ve had good success together.”

Asked directly whether he trusted Netanyahu, Trump responded, “I don’t trust anybody, honestly.”

“I don’t trust anybody,” he repeated. “In the world of politics, I don’t trust anybody.”

Trump did not identify a specific reason for distrusting Netanyahu and instead discussed their cooperation during the Iran war, crediting joint American and Israeli military operations with severely weakening Tehran’s military capabilities and leadership.

“We had a very successful partnership, you know, in terms of a military partnership,” Trump said.

Relations between Trump and Netanyahu have included periods of disagreement despite Netanyahu’s frequent references to their close relationship. Tensions intensified in June 2026 after an Israeli strike in Beirut nearly stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks, prompting Trump to harshly criticize Netanyahu. Trump acknowledged calling the Israeli prime minister “f—king crazy” during a phone call.

During the Newsmax interview, Trump also pointed to what he described as his popularity among Israeli voters.

“The people of Israel, they say if I ran for prime minister, I’d get 99% of them,” Trump said.

Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the October 27 election.

Asked about the race in a Time magazine interview published Oct. 1, he declined to back Netanyahu.

“No, my primary thing — I do want to help them defend Israel,” Trump said at the time.

Netanyahu’s Likud party is contesting an election in which recent surveys have shown his governing bloc below the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.

A Sept. 24 poll published by Zman Yisrael, the Hebrew-language sister site of The Times of Israel, put the pro- and anti-Netanyahu blocs at 53 seats each, with Arab-led parties projected to hold the remaining 14.