Trump tells Netanyahu he expects a “landslide victory,” says “you’re the man I want by my side”

U.S. President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that he expects him to win Israel’s October 27 election by a “landslide,” during a phone call Netanyahu held from an Israeli Air Force base.

Netanyahu opened the call by thanking Trump for his public endorsement.

“I thank you for the support,” Netanyahu said. “You have been an incredible leader of the free world and the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House.”

Netanyahu said the two countries still had unfinished work ahead.

“Donald, we have work to finish. You said it, and we will finish it,” he told Trump. “We have proven together that we can do enormous things together.”

Netanyahu also said he believed their partnership could expand the Abraham Accords.

“I am confident that our combined strength can expand the historic Abraham Accords that we brought about under your leadership,” he said.

Trump told Netanyahu that the endorsement he issued Sunday was his own message rather than something written for him by aides.

“I said those things myself. It wasn’t something somebody wrote,” Trump said.

Trump then praised Netanyahu personally and said he had been treated unfairly.

“You are a fighter for your country, and you have been treated unfairly,” Trump said. “You are a great fighter, and we will prove that very soon.”

Trump ended by predicting a decisive Netanyahu victory.

“I think you’re great, Bibi. I think you’re going to win in a landslide,” Trump said. “You’re the man I want by my side.”

The call came a day after Trump issued his “complete and total endorsement” of Netanyahu, saying Israel needed him as a partner in confronting Iran and warning that the U.S. might otherwise have to continue that work alone.