DOMINANT ANGLE
Vilnius is measuring the impact of Trump's long-delayed support campaign for Netanyahu, just nine days before an election where Gadi Eisenkot recalls that only Israelis choose their leader.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Donald Trump stated on Sunday he fully and unconditionally supports Benyamin Netanyahou for the October 27 elections (15min).
- 02
The October 27 elections will be the first general elections in Israel since the Hamas attack of 2023 (Verslo žinios).
- 03
Gadi Eisenkot responded: "Israel is a democratic country: only the Israelis themselves can choose their leader" (Verslo žinios).
ANALYSIS
Vilnius, October 19, 2026. The Lithuanian press presents Donald Trump's support for Benyamin Netanyahou as a key moment in the Israeli legislative campaign on October 27. Verslo žinios and 15min emphasize that the American president has long delayed speaking out, as the strategies of the two leaders in the Middle East have diverged.
According to 15min, Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he supports the Israeli Prime Minister "fully and without condition". Verslo žinios quotes the message published on Truth Social: "Let this letter express my total and unconditional support for Bibi Netanyahou in his upcoming battle for re-election". The American president describes his ally as a "great warrior Prime Minister" and an even greater peace partner in the fight against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The economic daily notes Benyamin Netanyahou's reaction, who thanked Donald Trump "for his enormous support and joint work" and wrote on X: "Together, we will accomplish this mission!". In a video broadcast by the Likud, the Prime Minister called on voters to take into account the words of the American president. He claimed that "we have crushed Iran" and that the partnership would continue to counter the Iranian threat "over the next two years, or even sooner".
The text also recalls the stakes of the election: these will be the first general elections in Israel since the Hamas attack in 2023. It notes that the lack of explicit support had until now embarrassed the Likud leader, who presented his close ties with Donald Trump as an argument to stay in power.
The response of the main opponent, former chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, is reported at the end of the article. During a conference in Tel Aviv, he said he "admires" the American president, but added: "Israel is a democratic country: only the Israelis themselves can choose their leader". The two articles stick to the statements of the protagonists, without editorial commentary or analysis of the polls. The regional Lithuanian context does not appear: the coverage remains that of an international dispatch on the Israeli campaign and the relationship with Washington.
