Trump claims his support prevented Netanyahu’s defeat

Trump asserted this Wednesday, October 28, 2026, that his endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu helped prevent a “decisive defeat” in the parliamentary elections held on Tuesday, in which the Likud party is leading the partial count.

United States President Donald Trump shared a message on his Truth Social platform in which he attributes a shift in the electoral trend in favor of Netanyahu to his political support.

However, the preliminary results and projections released so far indicate that the Israeli leader’s bloc does not reach the 61 seats necessary to obtain a majority in Parliament.

Trump attributes Netanyahu’s recovery to his endorsement

In the message shared on Truth Social, the U.S. president maintained that his support allowed for changing the electoral prospects of the Israeli prime minister.

The publication asserts that, before his intervention, Netanyahu faced the possibility of suffering a resounding defeat, but that subsequently the landscape transformed into a more balanced contest.

The text even raises the possibility of a victory for the Israeli leader, although the available data do not yet allow for that result to be confirmed.

Trump also linked his endorsement to the interests of the United States, Israel, and the Middle East.

A particular detail of the publication is that the message refers to the American president in the third person and appears signed with the name Irving C. Schwartz.

According to the EFE agency, Trump did not clarify who that person is, nor did he explain if he was repeating a statement from a third party.

Likud leads partial vote count in Israel

With approximately 42% of the votes counted, the Likud party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, held the top position with 21.7% of the ballots.

In second place was Yashar!, the political party led by Gadi Eisenkot, with 15.7% of the votes.

The Arab party alliance Joint List appeared in third position, with 9.2% of the votes.

This data corresponds to the partial count released by Israel’s Central Election Committee, cited by EFE.

Although Likud was leading the count, that position alone did not guarantee that Netanyahu could form a new government.

Netanyahu fails to reach majority to govern

The main challenge for the Israeli Prime Minister lies in the distribution of seats in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament.

To have a parliamentary majority, at least 61 of the 120 seats are needed.

According to projections and exit polls cited by EFE, the bloc led by Netanyahu would not reach that figure.

Estimates also indicated that the set of opposition forces could surpass the ruling bloc in seats, although it would not obtain a sufficient majority to govern on its own either.

This scenario keeps the uncertainty regarding the formation of the next Israeli Executive open.

The possibility of establishing agreements between different political forces will be an important element once the scrutiny concludes and the final distribution of seats is known.

Israeli elections keep the political landscape open

Israel’s parliamentary elections took place amidst intense competition between Netanyahu’s party and other factions seeking to change the composition of the Government.

The partial results reflect a distribution of the vote among several political forces, without a clearly consolidated majority for any of the main blocs.

As Netanyahu and his allies await the final result, Trump’s statements have added an international component to the debate over the elections.

The American president presented his endorsement as a determining factor in the evolution of the race, although that assertion constitutes a political assessment and not a conclusion proven by electoral data.

For the moment, the final result and the possibility of forming a coalition will depend on the complete count and subsequent parliamentary agreements.