'Israel Needs Me to Beat Kamala': Trump Decries 'Democrat Curse' on U.S.-Jewish Voters at Combatting Antisemitism Event
Haaretz
Ben Samuels
Sep 20, 2024 2:49 am IDT
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told a pro-Israel event that Christians love Israel more than Jewish people in many ways — the latest example of the former U.S. president using dual loyalty tropes to castigate American Jews who are out of step with his policies.
Attempting to describe the dangers of electing Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris before finding himself losing his train of thought, Trump told a pro-Israel crowd that "you have a lot of good Christians there that love Israel. By the way, in many ways, they love Israel more than Jewish people. Nevertheless, we'll take it right?"
Trump appeared at a pair of events in Washington — the first a campaign event dedicated to combating antisemitism (even though Trump said "we're here to talk about Israel") and the the second a keynote speech during the Israeli American Council's National Summit — both of which are inseparable from the financial backing of megadonor Miriam Adelson.
"You have to defeat Kamala Harris more than any other people on Earth. Israel, I believe, has to defeat her. I've never said this before," he said, directly addressing Adelson. "I'm thinking, Miriam, more than any people on Earth, Israel has to defeat her. I really believe that it's a disaster for Israel, and you know why, and you've heard her statements."
At the first event, Trump trafficked in tropes about Jewish power in American politics while noting the various U.S. lawmakers present at the event.
"There's a lot of power here. This is like the old days because, frankly, there's been a movement going on: AOC-plus-three, but the plus three is a lot more. We have to end that. We have to end it. We have to end it fast. I've never seen anything like it," implying that progressive Democrats are taking away pro-Israel groups' lobbying power.
"Five years ago Israel was the strongest lobby, if you want to use the word lobby," Trump said. "If you said something about a Jewish person or something about Israel, that was bad politics."
Trump additionally praised Rep. Elise Stefanik, who garnered international attention for her questioning of university presidents over campus antisemitism despite her own history in propagating antisemitic tropes. "What she did to that woman at Harvard with the big, big fat glasses. That woman had no idea what was happening," said Trump. "That was beautiful to watch, actually."
"It's hard to believe," Trump said about campus antisemitism, "yet despite presiding over this explosion of antisemitism, Kamala Harris has done absolutely nothing. She has not lifted a single finger to protect you or to protect your children or to even protect you with words." Harris and her Jewish husband Doug Emhoff have both been explicitly critical of the rise of domestic antisemitism, on college campuses and otherwise.
"I say all the time that any Jewish person that votes for her — especially now, her and the Democrat Party — should have their head examined. I just find it so hard to believe. Part of it is habit, I guess."
Trump said he will inform colleges during his first week back in office that they will use their accreditation and federal tax support unless they end "antisemitic propaganda," adding that they will be held accountable for violating the Civil Rights Act if they "permit violence, harassment or threats against Jewish students."
"She's supported unlimited migration from terrorist hotbeds into the United States — especially some of the hotbeds that most hate Israel," he said, adding "they're literally marching in our cities, and they are. They came from some very, very vicious, violent parts of the world, and they do not like Jewish people, and they do not like Israel."
"With all I have done for Israel, I received only 24 percent. Think of this. I really haven't been treated very well but that's the story of my life. I understood that because I wasn't a politician. And I won, but I understood that. And then I became president, and was the best president ever for the people of Israel and Jewish people. I did more for them than any president and probably any president can or will do."
"If Obama had done [the Abraham Accords], they would have had every single prize ever devised by man. I did it. Nobody said a thing."
"I did all of these things, and I got 29 percent. I wasn't treated right, but it's not me that's been treating badly, it's Israel, because you can make a big difference in the vote, you're going to be big factor in the vote," he said. "I should be at 100 percent."
"It's only because of the Democrat curse on you."
The first event was hosted by Orthodox businessman Yehuda Kaploun, whose business partner Ed Russo was former CEO of the U.S. division of Israeli company Water-Gen. The Environmental Protection Agency signed a research agreement with Water-Gen during the Trump administration in 2018, one year after EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt met the company at the request of Miriam's late husband Sheldon.
At the first event, Adelson described voting for Trump as the Jewish people's "sacred duty in gratitude" for his record on Israel during his first presidential term — a frequent line cited by Trump's Jewish Republican supporters who reject claims from many Jewish Americans that Trump's rhetoric veers into antisemitic stereotypes.
"The world is changing fast, and not always for the better. Division and confusion are lapping at the shores of this magnificent nation, eroding the common bonds of American strength and decency," Adelson told the first event, adding "it has given rise to open and ugly antisemitism, something none of us dreamed we should see here in our lifetime."
Describing "supposedly elite universities into propaganda factories where Jews are not welcome," Adelson warned rising antisemitism "also threatens the undermine to undermine the US-Israel alliance — a source of stability for both countries at a time when so much of the Middle East is in chaos, when the Jewish state is in a fight for his life.
"My friends, my brothers and sisters, all of this should be on our mind ahead of November 5, and you should already have made up your mind on who to vote for Donald J. Trump," she continued, noting she was "talking tachles" and "President has helped craft Jewish faith and preserve Jewish continuity" — both because "he is the father of a beautiful Jewish woman" and because "he recognizes the justice of our 2,000 year old cause."
Trump and pro-Israel Republicans have increasingly focused on the Biden administration and Democrats' rhetoric on Israel's war in Gaza and rising domestic antisemitism as evidence that the GOP is the sole political party for Jewish interests. Polls have indicated, however, that the Jewish vote remains largely in Harris' corner.
Ben Samuels
Sep 20, 2024 2:49 am IDT
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told a pro-Israel event that Christians love Israel more than Jewish people in many ways — the latest example of the former U.S. president using dual loyalty tropes to castigate American Jews who are out of step with his policies.
Attempting to describe the dangers of electing Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris before finding himself losing his train of thought, Trump told a pro-Israel crowd that "you have a lot of good Christians there that love Israel. By the way, in many ways, they love Israel more than Jewish people. Nevertheless, we'll take it right?"
Trump appeared at a pair of events in Washington — the first a campaign event dedicated to combating antisemitism (even though Trump said "we're here to talk about Israel") and the the second a keynote speech during the Israeli American Council's National Summit — both of which are inseparable from the financial backing of megadonor Miriam Adelson.
"You have to defeat Kamala Harris more than any other people on Earth. Israel, I believe, has to defeat her. I've never said this before," he said, directly addressing Adelson. "I'm thinking, Miriam, more than any people on Earth, Israel has to defeat her. I really believe that it's a disaster for Israel, and you know why, and you've heard her statements."
At the first event, Trump trafficked in tropes about Jewish power in American politics while noting the various U.S. lawmakers present at the event.
"There's a lot of power here. This is like the old days because, frankly, there's been a movement going on: AOC-plus-three, but the plus three is a lot more. We have to end that. We have to end it. We have to end it fast. I've never seen anything like it," implying that progressive Democrats are taking away pro-Israel groups' lobbying power.
"Five years ago Israel was the strongest lobby, if you want to use the word lobby," Trump said. "If you said something about a Jewish person or something about Israel, that was bad politics."
Trump additionally praised Rep. Elise Stefanik, who garnered international attention for her questioning of university presidents over campus antisemitism despite her own history in propagating antisemitic tropes. "What she did to that woman at Harvard with the big, big fat glasses. That woman had no idea what was happening," said Trump. "That was beautiful to watch, actually."
"It's hard to believe," Trump said about campus antisemitism, "yet despite presiding over this explosion of antisemitism, Kamala Harris has done absolutely nothing. She has not lifted a single finger to protect you or to protect your children or to even protect you with words." Harris and her Jewish husband Doug Emhoff have both been explicitly critical of the rise of domestic antisemitism, on college campuses and otherwise.
"I say all the time that any Jewish person that votes for her — especially now, her and the Democrat Party — should have their head examined. I just find it so hard to believe. Part of it is habit, I guess."
Trump said he will inform colleges during his first week back in office that they will use their accreditation and federal tax support unless they end "antisemitic propaganda," adding that they will be held accountable for violating the Civil Rights Act if they "permit violence, harassment or threats against Jewish students."
"She's supported unlimited migration from terrorist hotbeds into the United States — especially some of the hotbeds that most hate Israel," he said, adding "they're literally marching in our cities, and they are. They came from some very, very vicious, violent parts of the world, and they do not like Jewish people, and they do not like Israel."
"With all I have done for Israel, I received only 24 percent. Think of this. I really haven't been treated very well but that's the story of my life. I understood that because I wasn't a politician. And I won, but I understood that. And then I became president, and was the best president ever for the people of Israel and Jewish people. I did more for them than any president and probably any president can or will do."
"If Obama had done [the Abraham Accords], they would have had every single prize ever devised by man. I did it. Nobody said a thing."
"I did all of these things, and I got 29 percent. I wasn't treated right, but it's not me that's been treating badly, it's Israel, because you can make a big difference in the vote, you're going to be big factor in the vote," he said. "I should be at 100 percent."
"It's only because of the Democrat curse on you."
The first event was hosted by Orthodox businessman Yehuda Kaploun, whose business partner Ed Russo was former CEO of the U.S. division of Israeli company Water-Gen. The Environmental Protection Agency signed a research agreement with Water-Gen during the Trump administration in 2018, one year after EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt met the company at the request of Miriam's late husband Sheldon.
At the first event, Adelson described voting for Trump as the Jewish people's "sacred duty in gratitude" for his record on Israel during his first presidential term — a frequent line cited by Trump's Jewish Republican supporters who reject claims from many Jewish Americans that Trump's rhetoric veers into antisemitic stereotypes.
"The world is changing fast, and not always for the better. Division and confusion are lapping at the shores of this magnificent nation, eroding the common bonds of American strength and decency," Adelson told the first event, adding "it has given rise to open and ugly antisemitism, something none of us dreamed we should see here in our lifetime."
Describing "supposedly elite universities into propaganda factories where Jews are not welcome," Adelson warned rising antisemitism "also threatens the undermine to undermine the US-Israel alliance — a source of stability for both countries at a time when so much of the Middle East is in chaos, when the Jewish state is in a fight for his life.
"My friends, my brothers and sisters, all of this should be on our mind ahead of November 5, and you should already have made up your mind on who to vote for Donald J. Trump," she continued, noting she was "talking tachles" and "President has helped craft Jewish faith and preserve Jewish continuity" — both because "he is the father of a beautiful Jewish woman" and because "he recognizes the justice of our 2,000 year old cause."
Trump and pro-Israel Republicans have increasingly focused on the Biden administration and Democrats' rhetoric on Israel's war in Gaza and rising domestic antisemitism as evidence that the GOP is the sole political party for Jewish interests. Polls have indicated, however, that the Jewish vote remains largely in Harris' corner.
