Trump denies Netanyahu pressured him to support him: "We never discussed it"

US President Donald Trump denied on Monday evening that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressured him to publish messages of support ahead of the elections in Israel. Trump said he never spoke with Netanyahu about supporting him and published the messages on his own initiative. The denial comes after a report in Walla about pressure from Netanyahu and his associates.

US President Donald Trump denied on Monday evening that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressured him to publish messages of support ahead of the elections scheduled for Tuesday in Israel. Trump said: "I never spoke with Netanyahu about supporting him. I published the support messages, and I think he was a good prime minister under difficult circumstances." His comments come after a report in Walla that Netanyahu and his people are working to obtain additional statements of support from Trump. Two American sources confirmed to Walla that pressure is being applied on the matter, while Axios reported that Netanyahu spoke with Trump twice in three days and asked him to publish additional support messages. Earlier today, Trump again expressed public support for Netanyahu in a post on Truth Social, calling on Israeli citizens to vote for the prime minister. Trump's denial does not explicitly address claims of approaches by other figures in Netanyahu's circle.