Trump repeats attacks on Jewish political leaders and voters as battle for key group heats up

Source: NBC News

Sept. 4, 2024, 5:00 AM EDT


As former President Donald Trump tries to win over Jewish voters in the 2024 election, he’s made a point of attacking Jewish Democrats — targeting the faith of three of the most prominent Jewish Americans in politics and criticizing Jews who back Democrats as “absolute fools” who need “their head examined.”

Those attacks have increasingly colored the background of a pivotal fight for potential swing voters: Jewish Americans in critical battleground states, a group that has consistently supported Democrats in past elections and, this year, is increasingly concerned about issues including rising antisemitism at home, U.S. support for Israel in its war in Gaza, and the hostages held by Hamas — six of whom, including one American, were recently killed in Hamas captivity.

A number of Jewish advocates, quick to note Jewish voters are voting on an array of issues beyond Israel, say Trump’s attacks are blatantly antisemitic and lean on age-old tropes suggesting “dual loyalty” for American Jews between the U.S. and the Jewish state. Even some of Trump’s allies on the right view the comments as increasingly unhelpful in the broader effort to win over a small but meaningful number of Jewish voters in a close election.

“It’s deeply dangerous, deeply disturbing, and it’s part of this broader normalization of antisemitism,” Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the nonpartisan Jewish Council for Public Affairs, told NBC News. “Trump believes that he’s entitled to the Jewish vote, entitled to support from Jews, and when they don’t give it to him, he immediately defaults to this idea of the disloyal or bad Jew.” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said that "playing this dual loyalty trope" is "classic antisemitism."

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-repeats-attacks-jewish-political-leaders-voters-battle-key-group-rcna168283