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The Biden campaign and allied Democratic groups swiftly denounced Donald Trump on Monday after the former president told a conservative radio host that Jews who vote Democratic were sacrilegious.
The comments from Trump came during an interview with Sebastian Gorka, his one time campaign aide, who pressed him on criticism prominent Democrats have had for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israel-Hamas war.
“I actually think they hate Israel,” Trump told Gorka. “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion … They hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed.”
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The comments, some of the most direct that Trump has offered around the domestic political fallout of the Israel-Hamas war, evoked earlier statements the former president has made questioning the “loyalty” of American Jews.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League — a Jewish advocacy group, called Trump’s remarks “defamatory.” The White House derided them as “toxic” and President Joe Biden’s campaign accused Trump of “attacking Jewish Americans at a time of rising antisemitism.”
“The only person who should be ashamed here is Donald Trump,” said Biden-Harris 2024 spokesperson James Singer. “Donald Trump openly demeans Jewish Americans and reportedly thinks Adolf Hitler ‘did some good things.’ He has said the only people he wants counting his money are ‘short guys wearing yarmulkes,’ and praised neo-Nazis who chanted ‘Jews will not replace us’ as ‘very fine people.’”
Trump’s comments came just days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer delivered a floor speech in which he criticized Netanyahu and called for a change in Israeli political leadership. Biden spoke positively of Schumer’s speech, though he did not say he endorsed the same outcome.
Trump has largely refrained from taking a position on the war in Gaza until recently, when he said he supported Israel’s campaign to fully take out Hamas. The former president, this past fall, posted an image on his social media platform criticizing “liberal jews” for not appreciating his record on Israel.
“Just a quick reminder for liberal Jews who voted to destroy America & Israel because you believed false narratives!” the image read. “Let’s hope you learned from your mistake & make better choices moving forward! Happy New Year!”
The post came on the final day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
