By CORINNE BAUM JUNE 18, 2026 18:54 Updated: JUNE 18, 2026 21:28 US President Donald Trump expressed some reservations about endorsing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections before he knew who the other candidates were.
In a Thursday interview with Israeli public broadcaster KAN News, he said he would "most likely endorse" Netanyahu but wanted to learn more about the other candidates.
"I'll have to look at who's running, but I like Bibi very much. I would be most likely to endorse him," the president told KAN News's Nathan Guttman.
"But I need to see who is running. I have a good relationship with Bibi, but he needs to be more rational. I am willing to meet with him. He's doing a very good job; he's got to be a little bit more rational.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conferene at the Prime Minister's office in Jerursalem, June 15, 2026. (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90) Trump says Netanyahu needs 'softer touch' in Lebanon
This comes after Trump's other recent criticisms of Netanyahu . On Wednesday, Trump claimed the pair have a "little dispute" over Lebanon, and added that Netanyahu "gets a little excited sometimes."
"I say you can do a little softer touch, maybe you don't need to bring down a building every time a Hezbollah member walks into it."
In addition, US Vice President JD Vance said that the US would not remove sanctions on Iran if it were still funding a terrorist organization, he said, in a reference to Hezbollah.
He then criticized a "weird panic... in the Israeli system" in regard to Iran.
"They assume that everything that is contemplated that is good for Iran will happen - but that will happen without the Iranians changing any behavior," Vance said in an interview with the New York Times . "That's not how the deal is written."
"I find this whole freakout in Israel a little bit odd because I think that it comes from a place of mistrust, and I think that America has earned the trust of that region of the world," Vance said.
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