Welcome To Israel, Trump's Country

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The numbers are real, if not 99%. In mid-2025 Pew found 69% of Israelis had confidence in him. In February 2026, the Jewish People Policy Institute found 73% rated him better than an average US president. Researchers at Tel Aviv University describe a“Trump effect”: Jewish Israelis, especially on the right, become more open to talks with Palestinians when told Trump is behind them. No Israeli politician can do that. Trump can.

The endorsement that isn't coming

In 2019, Likud hung giant billboards over the Ayalon highway: Netanyahu and Trump shaking hands, under the slogan“In another league.” Trump reposted it. That was the deal: Bibi borrowed Trump's glow, and Trump enjoyed the tribute.

This time the president is keeping his hands in his pockets. In June he said he would“most likely” back Netanyahu, depending on the opponent. Then Gadi Eisenkot entered the race, and Trump said he didn't hear bad things about him. In a TIME interview he dodged the question three times. On Tuesday, boarding Marine One, he offered only:“We may endorse somebody.” No name.

The closest he has come is a Truth Social link, in September, to a Newsmax story about one poll showing Netanyahu's bloc ahead. It is not even clear Trump posted it himself. Meanwhile Israeli media report that Eisenkot's and Naftali Bennett's camps have quietly asked Trump's circle to stay neutral. So far, they are getting their wish.

The race is tight enough for that silence to matter. Across five polls last month, Eisenkot's Yashar averaged 22.2 seats to Likud's 21.2. Netanyahu's bloc averaged 54.4, the Zionist opposition 51. Neither reaches 61.

Cracks in the shrine

The distance runs both ways. Over the summer, Trump pressed Israel to curb its operations in Lebanon and pull back from parts of Syria while Washington negotiated with Tehran. He admitted calling Netanyahu“crazy,” with an expletive, in a heated phone call. Axios reported he has told people that“Bibi is his own worst enemy.”

Israelis noticed. An Israel Democracy Institute poll this summer found the share who believe Trump prioritizes Israel's security fell from 44% in May to 28% in June. Among Jewish respondents, belief that Israel can fully rely on him dropped 38 points between March and June. Only about a third felt Israel's strategic position was better than before the Iran war.

Yet Trump's personal popularity has proven sticky, which is the strange part. Israelis can doubt his policy and still love the man. Netanyahu's own campaign shows the reflex: When a businessman he placed on Likud's list turned out to have called Trump“morally corrupt,” the candidate apologized within hours, calling Trump Israel's greatest friend in the White House. In Israel, insulting Trump is still a campaign hazard.