Trump Denies Netanyahu Sought More US Backing

President Donald Trump said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not asked him for a new endorsement ahead of Israel's elections. "I never spoke about it," Trump told reporters on the White House grounds as he boarded Air Force One for a campaign rally in Mississippi. He added, "I put out both endorsements. I put out both," and said Netanyahu has done a good job under difficult circumstances.

That answer conflicts with what US officials told the Jerusalem Post. Those officials said Netanyahu had been working intensively to get Trump to issue another public statement of support after an earlier endorsement did not move the polls. Axios reported that Netanyahu and Trump spoke twice in three days and that Netanyahu asked Trump to reinforce his backing. Axios also reported that Netanyahu suggested wording for another endorsement and asked Trump to speak with Israeli journalists. The Likud party denied that Netanyahu requested the endorsement.

Trump also addressed Brazil's presidential election, where incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defeated Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Asked whether he would act on the result, Trump said, "I'm not running Brazil. I'm running the USA." He said of Lula, "I get along with him very well," but added, "I just think it had a very bad look. The election, the way it was tabulated." He said of the voting timeline, "The extension given was very strange."

Those comments refer to a ruling by Brazil's Supreme Court that extended voting by two hours during the second round of the election. The court acted after complaints about disruptions to public transportation. The extension drew political controversy in Brazil. Trump made his remarks while heading to Mississippi for a campaign rally.