For the past 100 days, US President Donald Trump has communicated about the Iran war primarily in two ways: bombastic social media posts, and a seemingly endless stream of comments to reporters.

He frequently, almost inevitably, sends dissonant messages in these statements, most recently telling the Wall Street Journal that the Iranian downing of a US helicopter “wasn’t a big deal,” and also posting online that the US “must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

But an offhand remark he made on Monday night was especially peculiar: He suggested, without any evidence, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might not run for reelection this year.

“I don’t know, he’s had an amazing career,” Trump said, according to a Tuesday post on X by ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl. “Does he want to continue? Because, you know he’s a wartime prime minister. We will very shortly win the war one way or the other, and you know he’s a wartime prime minister.”

To be clear, the answer to Trump’s question is a resounding yes. Netanyahu has led Israel nearly uninterruptedly since 2009, has run in successive elections and is already actively campaigning in this one.

As the old adage goes, there are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and that Benjamin Netanyahu will run for prime minister. Shortly after Trump’s comment came to light, Netanyahu’s Likud party deigned to state the obvious, posting on X that Netanyahu “will run in the upcoming election, and, God willing, will win.”

Trump probably understands that. So what was his comment about? It might have been a commentary on Netanyahu’s health; the premier, 76, has had a number of health issues recently, including cancer, and Trump may have been hinting that after decades in politics and almost three years at war, his Israeli counterpart is........

© The Times of Israel