Trump doubts Netanyahu knew of Oct. 7 attack warnings
Former US president also declined to endorse Israeli prime minister for re-election.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump doubts Netanyahu knew of Oct. 7 attack warnings
Photograph: Jerusalem Post (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Donald Trump said he does not believe reports that Benjamin Netanyahu was warned by Egypt or the UAE about the October 7 Hamas attack.
- Trump declined to directly endorse Netanyahu for another term in office, stating he is no longer involved in politics.
- The former president said he had not heard negative information about opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot.
- Trump compared Netanyahu to himself, stating he would not underestimate the prime minister.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 11 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 6 of the 17 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
57/100
Hype
41/100
17 sources · methodology
Donald Trump stated he does not believe reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warned by Egypt or the United Arab Emirates about the October 7 Hamas attack. In an interview with Time magazine, Trump said that if Netanyahu had known, he would have taken action. Trump also refused to endorse Netanyahu for another term in office, steering the conversation away from the question three times. When asked if Israelis should give Netanyahu another term, Trump responded that he is no longer involved in politics, but also stated he would not underestimate Netanyahu, comparing him to himself. He also commented on opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot, saying he had not heard negative things about him.
Disagreement on timing of Trump's awareness
The Jerusalem Post reported that Trump said, "I think if he would have known, he would have done something about it." Haaretz and Israel Hayom reported Trump stating, "I heard that today for the first time," when asked about warnings the prime minister reportedly received. The Jerusalem Post also reported Trump saying, "Certainly, he would have had people at least alert [him]."
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated digests mention Trump's comparison of himself to Netanyahu, stating he would not underestimate the prime minister. None of the right-rated digests mention Trump's statement that he believes Israel would not have been able to defend itself against Iran without the United States.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 1 Oct 2026, 13:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
3 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports led on Donald Trump refusing to endorse Benjamin Netanyahu for another term. IndexHR reported that Trump "uskratio je podršku" (withheld support) and avoided a clear answer when asked if Netanyahu should get another mandate. Haaretz reported Trump stating, "'Can't imagine' Netanyahu was warned before October 7 Hamas attack," and that he heard about the warnings for the first time in the interview.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated report from the Jerusalem Post led on Trump stating he does not believe Netanyahu was warned about the October 7 attack. It also noted Trump refused to endorse Netanyahu for another term, steering the conversation away from the question. The report quoted Trump saying, "I think if he would have known, he would have done something about it."
Right
6 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports focused on Donald Trump's disbelief that Benjamin Netanyahu was warned about the October 7 Hamas attack. VINnews reported Trump saying, "I Don’t Believe Netanyahu Was Warned." Arutz Sheva reported Trump stating, "'I don't think Netanyahu was warned in advance'." Protothema reported Trump avoiding public support for Netanyahu, stating, "I Don't Get Involved in Politics." Anadolu Ajansı reported Trump declining to endorse Netanyahu and mentioning he had not heard "bad things" about Gadi Eisenkot.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump doubts Netanyahu knew of Oct. 7 attack warnings?
- Of the 11 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 27% are rated left, 18% are rated centre, 55% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 17. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump doubts Netanyahu knew of Oct. 7 attack warnings left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 11 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump doubts Netanyahu knew of Oct. 7 attack warnings biased?
- Trump doubts Netanyahu knew of Oct. 7 attack warnings is one event reported by 17 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Trump doubts Netanyahu knew of Oct. 7 attack warnings?
- 17 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Did Donald Trump believe Benjamin Netanyahu was warned about the October 7 attack?
- No, Donald Trump stated he does not believe reports that Benjamin Netanyahu was warned by Egypt or the United Arab Emirates about the October 7 Hamas attack. He said that if Netanyahu had known, he would have taken action.
- Did Donald Trump endorse Benjamin Netanyahu for another term?
- No, Donald Trump refused to directly endorse Benjamin Netanyahu for another term in office. He stated he is no longer involved in politics and steered the conversation away from the question multiple times.
- What did Donald Trump say about Gadi Eisenkot?
- Donald Trump stated that he had not heard any negative things about opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot. He was asked if Washington could work more effectively with Eisenkot than with Netanyahu.
Read it at the source
17 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
3- Trump declines to endorse Netanyahu ahead of Israeli elections (opens Middle East Monitor in a new tab)
Middle East Monitor — is Middle East Monitor biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Elections Are Coming Soon in Israel. Trump Refuses to Support Netanyahu (opens IndexHR in a new tab)
- Trump: 'Can't imagine' Netanyahu was warned before October 7 Hamas attack (opens Haaretz in a new tab)
Centre
2- Coming to Netanyahu’s defense, Trump says he ‘can’t imagine’ Israeli leader ignored warnings ahead of Oct. 7 (opens The Times of Israel in a new tab)
The Times of Israel — is The Times of Israel biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump says he doesn't believe Netanyahu was warned about Oct. 7 by Egypt, UAE (opens Jerusalem Post in a new tab)
Jerusalem Post — is Jerusalem Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
6- ‘If He Knew, He Would Have Done Something About It,' Trump On Reports Netanyahu Was Warned About Oct. 7 (opens i24NEWS in a new tab)
- Trump Addresses Oct. 7 Warnings For First Time: “I Don’t Believe Netanyahu Was Warned” (opens VINnews in a new tab)
- Trump: 'I don't think Netanyahu was warned in advance' (opens Arutz Sheva in a new tab)
Arutz Sheva — is Arutz Sheva biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump stops short of backing Netanyahu: 'Eisenkot? I don't hear bad things about him' (opens Israel Hayom in a new tab)
Israel Hayom — is Israel Hayom biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Avoided Publicly Supporting Netanyahu Ahead of the Israeli Elections: "I Don't Get Involved in Politics" (opens Protothema in a new tab)
Protothema — is Protothema biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Declines to Endorse Netanyahu Ahead of Israeli Elections (opens Anadolu Ajansı in a new tab)
Anadolu Ajansı — is Anadolu Ajansı biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
6- Trump Refused to Support Netanyahu Ahead of Israeli Elections | Face | The only Independent Media House (opens face.ba in a new tab)
- Israel, Trump Opens to Eisenkot Premier: "I Don't Hear Bad Things About Him" (opens canaledieci.it in a new tab)
canaledieci.it — is canaledieci.it biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Israel, Trump Opens to Eisenkot Premier: "I Don't Hear Bad Things About Him" (opens Rec News in a new tab)
- Israel, Trump Opens to Eisenkot Premier: "I Don't Hear Bad Things About Him" (opens notizie.it in a new tab)
notizie.it — is notizie.it biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Was Asked if He Supports Netanyahu Before the Elections in Israel: He Did Not Want to Say One Thing (opens Avaz.ba in a new tab)
- Trump in an Interview with Time: "I Don't Think Egypt and UAE Warned Netanyagu Before October 7th." (opens NEWSru.co.il in a new tab)
NEWSru.co.il — is NEWSru.co.il biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
