Trump Says Jews Who Support Democrats ‘Hate Israel’ and ‘Their Religion’ – The New York Times
Advertisement
The comments, on a conservative radio program, echo an antisemitic trope and escalate claims he made as president that were widely criticized.
Reporting from Washington
Former President Donald J. Trump accused Jews who vote for Democrats of hating their religion and Israel, reviving and escalating a claim he made as president that Jewish Democrats were disloyal.
A few hours later, facing mounting criticism from Jewish groups, Mr. Trump’s campaign repeated his incendiary charge, declaring that “Trump is right,” and that the Democratic Party “has turned into a full-blown anti-Israel, antisemitic, pro-terrorist cabal.”
Mr. Trump made his remarks in an interview published online on Monday with Sebastian Gorka, a former White House aide for Mr. Trump who now hosts a conservative talk radio program. Mr. Gorka asked Mr. Trump about criticism that prominent Democrats — including President Biden and Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader — had levied against Benjamin Netanyahu, the right-wing prime minister of Israel.
“I actually think they hate Israel,” Mr. Trump replied. Mr. Gorka agreed.
“Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion,” Mr. Trump added later. “They hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed.”
Democratic officials “hate Israel,” he said, because they want votes from people who are sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have been killed in the war there.
“Don’t forget, when you see those Palestinian marches — even I am amazed at how many people are in those marches,” Mr. Trump said. “And guys like Schumer see that, and to him it’s votes. I think it’s votes more than anything else, because he was always pro-Israel. He’s very anti-Israel now.”
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement