Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call in which they exchanged praise and discussed shared policy and security challenges. The call was released today (Monday), just days before Israel’s election, against the backdrop of Trump’s public support for Netanyahu.
1+Netanyahu thanked Trump for his support, saying: “I’m so grateful for this incredible support. You were an incredible leader of the free world, of America.” He added that Trump is “by a huge margin, the greatest friend Israel has ever had or will ever have in the White House.” Netanyahu then told Trump: “We have a job to finish. You said it, and we’ll finish it together.” Trump responded that “no one else will do it,” emphasizing that he personally drafted his statement of support for Netanyahu.
Trump: “You’re a Fighter”
Trump praised Netanyahu, telling him: “You’re a fighter and you’ve been treated unfairly by your country.” The American president then predicted victory for him in the election: “I think you’ll win a massive victory… The man who stood by me, Bibi.”
1+Trump’s message adds to the public support he’s expressed for Netanyahu on the eve of the election. For the prime minister, it’s a boost to a campaign seeking to present him as a leader with a personal, direct relationship with the White House and as someone capable of leading Israel on the international stage.
The Iranian Threat
Netanyahu concluded his remarks with a reference to Iran and the nuclear threat. “People in America need to know that you faced the greatest danger facing them: Iran with nuclear weapons. We won’t let that happen,” he told Trump.
The call also included a broader policy message: Netanyahu and Trump sought to present the alliance between them as an engine for expanding the Abraham Accords and as a foundation for a joint confrontation with the Iranian threat.