President Donald Trump has weighed in on Israel's political showdown, saying Gadi Eisenkot and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold very similar policies and views. Speaking to reporters before leaving Florida on Sunday night, he said Eisenkot has said very nice things about him and added, "He says he loves Trump." Trump also said both men are strong on what he does, which he framed as a sign of policy continuity either way. At the same time, he admitted he hasn't followed the details closely, called it a contest between the two, and said, in effect, that he will see who comes out on top.

His comments come after a dramatic political turn in Israel. Netanyahu's bloc fell short of a majority in the October 27 election, and during consultations this week, 67 members of the Knesset recommended Eisenkot to form the next government, compared with 46 who backed Netanyahu. President Isaac Herzog then tasked Eisenkot, who leads the Yashar party, with trying to build a coalition. He has 28 days to do it, with a possible extension of up to 14 more days. If he fails, the mandate could pass to another candidate, which could give Netanyahu another shot at the job. For now, the big questions are whether Eisenkot can actually assemble a majority, and how much Washington will try to shape the outcome behind the scenes.