President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, ahead of Israel's October 27 parliamentary election, Reuters and The Jerusalem Post reported. Trump made the endorsement in a post on Truth Social addressed to the people of Israel, Reuters and The Jerusalem Post reported.

"Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Israel," Trump wrote, according to Reuters and The Jerusalem Post. He called Netanyahu "Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition," Reuters and The Jerusalem Post reported.

Trump also suggested that the US would have to face Iran on its own if Netanyahu lost. "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," he wrote, The Jerusalem Post reported. The paper reported that the post was a reversal from a Newsmax interview on Thursday, when Trump declined to endorse any candidate.

Netanyahu thanked Trump on X, writing, "Together we will complete the mission!" Reuters and The Jerusalem Post reported. Gadi Eisenkot, the Yashar Party leader seen as a main rival to Netanyahu, said on the N12 news site that "the only ones who will decide [the election] are the citizens of Israel," The Jerusalem Post reported.

The endorsement may not give Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud party a boost, because Israeli public support for Trump has fallen amid disagreements over Iran, Reuters reported. Polls suggest no candidate has a clear path to power, and Israel's prime minister is chosen through coalition-building in parliament, Reuters reported. It will be Israel's first national vote since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, Reuters reported.

Trump has broken with longtime US practice by endorsing candidates in other countries' elections, including Hungary, Colombia, Argentina, Japan and Honduras, Reuters reported.

What we know: Trump publicly endorsed Netanyahu on Sunday, and Netanyahu thanked him.
What we don't: Whether the endorsement will help Netanyahu and Likud on October 27.