Trump reveals what he heard about the elections in Israel: "I got horror reports"

US President Donald Trump told Barak Ravid of Axios that initially he received alarming reports about Benjamin Netanyahu's political standing in the Israeli elections, but now he is in good shape. Trump claimed his support helped Netanyahu. Netanyahu's bloc leads with 53 seats versus 48 for Eisenkot's bloc, but neither bloc reaches 61.

US President Donald Trump addressed the results of the Israeli elections today in an interview with Barak Ravid of Axios. Trump said that initially he received alarming reports about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political standing, but after it became clear that Netanyahu's bloc gained an advantage over the change bloc in the actual vote count, he changed his assessment. "At first I got horror reports," Trump said, "but he's in pretty good shape now." After about 85% of the votes were counted, Netanyahu's bloc leads with 53 seats compared to 48 for the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot. This represents a turnaround from the initial polls, but neither camp is close to 61 seats. Trump also addressed his public support for Netanyahu and said he heard it made a big difference. He did not commit to intervening in efforts to form a unity government. About 500,000 votes are still awaiting counting, but Axios estimates they will not significantly change the balance of power.