Trump says his second Netanyahu post ‘wasn’t an endorsement,’ then says ‘I put out both endorsements’

Donald Trump has cleared up whether his second Netanyahu post was an endorsement. It wasn’t. And it was.

On Monday at Joint Base Andrews, a reporter asked whether Benjamin Netanyahu had asked him for “that second endorsement,” and whether he’d pleaded. Trump: “I never spoke about it.” Then: “It wasn’t an endorsement. It was just, I put out both endorsements. I put out both.” About two seconds separate “wasn’t an endorsement” from “both endorsements.” The position held for nearly that long.

The post in question went up on Sunday evening: “Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started!” That came a week after his first endorsement, two days before Israel votes. Axios reported, citing a U.S. source, that Netanyahu spoke with Trump twice in three days, asked him to double down, and even suggested language. A Likud spokesperson denied that Netanyahu asked. Trump says they “never spoke about it.” The post is the only part of this anyone can read.

He finished by saying Netanyahu has “done a very good job as Prime Minister.” That one, presumably, also wasn’t an endorsement.