Day before Israel’s first Knesset election since October 7, 2023, President Trump pushes back on reports that Prime Minister Netanyahu privately lobbied him to issue a second endorsement.By World Israel News StaffPresident Donald Trump on Monday denied that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked him for another public endorsement ahead of Israel’s general election, pushing back against reports that the Israeli leader had personally lobbied the White House for additional support.Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One for a campaign rally in Mississippi, Trump was asked about reports that Netanyahu had requested a second endorsement after receiving the president’s backing the previous week.“No, I never spoke to him about it,” Trump responded.“I put out both endorsements. I put out both,” he added, before praising Netanyahu’s performance in office.“I think he’s done a very good job as prime minister under very trying conditions,” Trump said.The comments came a day after Axios reported that Netanyahu had been pressing Trump to issue another expression of support, citing an American source familiar with the discussions and an Israeli source briefed on the matter.According to the report, Netanyahu spoke with Trump twice over three days and urged him to reinforce his October 18 endorsement. The prime minister reportedly suggested wording for additional statements and proposed that Trump speak directly with Israeli journalists to express his support.One American source characterized Netanyahu’s efforts as a “sign of desperation,” suggesting the Israeli leader feared his coalition was headed for defeat.The Jerusalem Post separately reported that American officials had described intensive efforts by Netanyahu to secure another endorsement after the first failed to produce a significant shift in public opinion.However, Netanyahu’s Likud party denied the allegations.Neta Molcho, a Likud spokesperson, told Axios that Netanyahu had not requested Trump’s support “in recent days or before his endorsement statement.”Trump’s remarks on Monday appeared to support Netanyahu’s denial, although his statement that he had never spoken to the prime minister “about it” did not directly address every detail of the reported contacts between Netanyahu’s office and American officials.On Sunday, Trump renewed his endorsement in a lengthy Truth Social post, urging Israelis to reelect Netanyahu and highlighting the leaders’ cooperation in military operations against Iran.“To the people of Israel, to those who haven’t seen it, I am attaching the Endorsement I gave one week ago,” Trump wrote.The president praised Netanyahu’s wartime leadership and argued that their partnership was essential to confronting Iran.“Bibi and I have had a great relationship in winning together,” he declared.Trump pointed to Operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury, claiming that the joint American-Israeli military campaign had devastated Iran’s military capabilities, leadership and economy.He also credited the American naval blockade with preventing Tehran from conducting normal oil trade.“When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister!” Trump wrote.He ended the statement with a direct appeal to Israeli voters.“Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!”The renewed endorsement followed Trump’s initial October 18 declaration of support, in which he described Netanyahu as a crucial partner in the campaign against Iran and warned that electing another Israeli leader could complicate American efforts to confront Tehran.“If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so,” Trump wrote at the time.In an interview with Axios following that endorsement, Trump explained that he had wanted to support Netanyahu but had deliberately waited until closer to the election.“I was always going to do that. I just didn’t want to do it too soon,” he said.Trump also praised his relationship with Netanyahu, expressing uncertainty about whether he would work as effectively with another Israeli prime minister.“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Who wants to take the chance?” he asked.The president’s unusually direct intervention in Israeli electoral politics comes amid a closely contested election in which Netanyahu’s ruling coalition faces the possibility of losing its parliamentary majority.The final pre-election surveys released Friday by Israel’s three major television networks projected approximately 50 Knesset seats for Netanyahu’s coalition, well short of the 61 required to form a government.The polls projected between 52 and 56 seats for parties aligned with the main opposition bloc, leaving neither side assured of a parliamentary majority.Channel 14, whose surveys have generally been more favorable to Netanyahu’s coalition, presented a considerably different picture, projecting 60 seats for the governing bloc.Netanyahu has sought to emphasize his close relationship with Trump throughout the campaign, portraying the partnership as essential to Israel’s security and its ability to confront threats from Iran.Speaking on Sunday evening, the prime minister described the relationship as unprecedented in the history of Israeli-American relations.“US President Donald Trump has come with a friendship that has never existed before between an Israeli prime minister and an American president,” Netanyahu said.He argued that Trump’s continued support would be particularly important in addressing the Iranian threat, suggesting that the two countries could resume military operations if necessary.The White House, however, said Monday that the United States would not launch further attacks against Iran before the November 3 American midterm elections.Netanyahu’s leading challenger, former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, has rejected suggestions that Israel’s relationship with Washington depends on Netanyahu remaining in office.Eisenkot praised Trump as “a true friend of Israel” while expressing confidence that the president would cooperate with whichever government Israeli voters choose.“I value his efforts and his commitment to Israel’s security,” Eisenkot said, adding that he expected Trump to work with Israel’s next elected leader.The controversy surrounding the second endorsement has highlighted the political importance Netanyahu places on his relationship with the American president, as well as divisions within Trump’s own administration over the Israeli election.Axios reported Saturday that some senior Trump advisers believe a government led by someone other than Netanyahu could offer opportunities to advance American diplomatic objectives in the Middle East, despite the president’s public support for the incumbent.With Israelis voting Tuesday, Trump has made his preference clear, but the circumstances surrounding his renewed endorsement remain disputed.While American and Israeli sources have described an intensive effort by Netanyahu to obtain additional support, both the prime minister’s party and Trump have denied that he requested it.The post Netanyahu didn’t ask Trump for second endorsement, president says appeared first on World Israel News.