Trump says his Netanyahu endorsement ‘helped him a lot,’ two days after ‘it wasn’t an endorsement’

On Monday, Donald Trump’s second Netanyahu post “wasn’t an endorsement.” About two seconds later, it was one of “both endorsements.” By early Wednesday, with Israel still counting, it was the thing that saved him.

At Joint Base Andrews after midnight, back from a two-rally day, Trump was asked about reports that Netanyahu’s coalition was falling short. “Well, that’s not what I heard. I heard the opposite.” He said the poll numbers were wrong, that “it’s pretty close,” and then handed out the credit: “when the endorsement went out,” he said, it “helped him a lot.” A tie, he explained, “is sort of considered a win in that case because it’s a big chess match.” His forecast: something like a stalemate, or a win.

Around the same time, his Truth Social account posted a block of text in quotation marks, credited to nobody, that calls him “President Trump” in the third person: “When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a Great Prime Minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN for Netanyahu.” It all took place, the post says, “AFTER the Endorsement.” Capital E.

The count by midday Wednesday in Israel: with 84.5% of ballot boxes counted, the Times of Israel had Netanyahu’s bloc at 54 seats, with 61 needed for a majority. By our math, that’s seven short. “It’s a little bit early,” Trump allowed. Early enough for the endorsement to count again.