Former President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized Jews in the United States over a perceived lack of support for Israel.
In a Truth Social post, he contrasted the support for Israel among “our wonderful Evangelicals” to that of American Jews, whom he urged to appreciate Israel more. He also stressed his track record of support for Israel, even saying he could easily be the country’s prime minister given his approval rating there, which he says is the highest “in the World.”
“No President has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S. Those living in Israel, though, are a different story — Highest approval rating in the World, could easily be P.M.! U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel — Before it is too late!” he wrote.
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The post was quickly decried by many figures as antisemitic, with some left-wing figures interpreting it as a threat.
“A lot of antisemitism to unpack here. But one thing is clear; Trump has no problem threatening American Jews,” tweeted David Leopold, former president and general counsel of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
A lot of antisemitism to unpack here. But one thing is clear; Trump has no problem threatening American Jews.
“US Jews have to get their act together..before it’s too late.” pic.twitter.com/lAVxvjMvQf
— David Leopold (@DavidLeopold) October 16, 2022
Some allies came to his defense, including conservative commentator Mark Levin, who is Jewish and has previously described Trump as the “first Jewish president.”
“No he didn’t. As usual, leftist goons at Mediaite and elsewhere are projecting. I’ll explain tomorrow on radio,” Levin tweeted, in response to an article interpreting the post as Trump complaining of his lack of support among U.S. Jews.
Trump has previously taken flack for his comments on U.S. Jews and their relationship to Israel.
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“There’s people in this country that are Jewish, no longer love Israel. I’ll tell you, the evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country. It used to be that Israel had absolute power over Congress, and today, I think it’s the exact opposite. And I think Obama and Biden did that. And yet, in the election, they still get a lot of votes from Jewish people, which tells you that the Jewish people, and I’ve said this for a long time, the Jewish people in the United States, either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel. I mean, you look at the New York Times, the New York Times hates Israel. Hates them. And they’re Jewish people that run the New York Times, I mean the Sulzberger family,” Trump said on the Unholy podcast late last year.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka is Jewish, converting after her marriage to Jared Kushner, and they have three children together.
