U.S. President Donald Trump says he endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because “why take a chance” on someone else

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for re-election because Israel needs a leader Washington can rely on and he saw no reason to risk working with someone else.

“It’s important that Israel have somebody that they can count on,” Trump told Axios on October 18. “I decided to endorse Netanyahu because we have a good relationship and we’ll continue to do good things together.”

Trump said he had always intended to back Netanyahu but deliberately waited until late in the campaign before making the endorsement public.

“I always intended to do it. I just didn’t want to do it too early,” Trump said. “Maybe I can work with somebody else and maybe I can’t. Why take a chance?”

Trump announced his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Netanyahu earlier Sunday, nine days before Israel’s October 27 election.

The endorsement followed months in which Trump had publicly withheld support for Netanyahu amid differences over Iran and Gaza. In August, Trump said he believed he should stay out of Israel’s election, though he left open the possibility of endorsing a candidate later.