Donald Trump is an antisemite.
He regularly employs antisemitic tropes, essentializes Jews as a monolithic group, and entertains base stereotypes of Jews. He suggests that Jews are—or at least should be—more loyal to Israel than the United States. And yet, his defenders insist he can’t truly be antisemitic because his son-in-law is Jewish and his daughter converted to Judaism. Plus, he supports Israel.
Trump himself has said he is “the least antisemitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life.” But that, like most of the words that come out of Trump’s mouth—is a lie.
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For American Jews, Trump’s anti-Jewish utterances are not necessarily surprising or unique. They are the kind of words that most of us have heard in whispered tones (or perhaps from clueless Gentiles) our entire lives. If, as Isaiah Berlin once joked, an antisemite is someone who hates Jews more than is absolutely necessary, Trump rarely went too far beyond that line into Grammy Hall territory—a “classic Jew hater.”
But on Sunday that changed, as he took his antisemitism to a new and much more dangerous place—implicitly threatening Jews. And, once again, his fellow Republicans said nothing.
On his social media site, Truth Social, Trump wrote this:
“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!”
President Donald Trump speaks at the Israeli American Council National Summit on December 07, 2019 in Hollywood, Florida.
Noam Galai/GettyTrump has made similar statements in the past. Last December he complained that “People in this country that are Jewish no longer love Israel.” He added that “evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country,” who according to the former president “either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel.” (For good measure, he threw in that classic antisemitic dog whistle—“Jewish people run The New York Times.”)
Trump says things like this because he views politics in a wholly transactional manner. In his mind, he’s been incredibly supportive of Israel. As president, he moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and thus, American Jews should vote for him. It’s a quid pro quo.
It would never occur to him that American Jews might take into account other factors—like whether a presidential candidate regularly makes openly antisemitic statements, runs blatantly antisemitic ads, or helms a political movement that has turned a wealthy Jewish philanthropist into an antisemitic bogeyman.
It certainly would never dawn on him that the voting patterns of American Jews are driven by something other than a finite, definable good.
Indeed, American Jews have long been among the most loyal bloc of Democratic voters. That’s largely because, of the two major political parties, Democrats are consistent supporters of equal rights for minority racial and ethnic groups and are far less likely to give aid and comfort to antisemitic voices (though the party has not been as stalwart on this point as it once was). Quite simply, the values of the Democratic Party largely align with the values of the Jewish community in America.
The idea that American Jews’ political support could be informed by shared values—or a moral core—is as foreign to Trump as is the idea that values and morality are actual human attributes.
Indeed, Trump is likely unaware in his Sunday post that he gave voice to one of the more despicable and long-standing antisemitic tropes—that Jews are as loyal to Israel, as they are to America. Disloyalty is a charge that has been levied against Diaspora Jews for thousands of years, long before there even was a state of Israel. But Trump found a way to put an even worse modern spin on it by suggesting that “U.S. Jews have to get their act together…Before it is too late!”
Before what is too late?
Does that mean that if Trump comes back into power he will use the presidency to attack Jews for their lack of loyalty, or perhaps Israel for the supposed sins of their Jewish brethren in the United States? It’s not often that a potential presidential candidate demands votes by implicitly threatening an entire group of Americans, but here we are.
Protestors and members of a Jewish social action group rally against what they call hateful and violent rhetoric from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, outside of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, September 29, 2016 in New York City.
Drew Angerer/GettyBut if we dig deeper into Trump’s words, there’s an even more unsettling accusation. Unlike the usual charge of Jewish dual allegiance, Trump appears to suggest that Jews aren’t even loyal to America. According to Trump, the only real concern is the fate of Israel, which makes sense considering he once told a group of Jewish attendees at a White House Hanukkah event that Israel is “your country.” Our only true allegiance is, and apparently should be, with a country that is 5,000 miles away, not the place we call home.
Trump’s antisemitic slander is more than just another crude attack on Jews, it’s an assault on the very idea of what it means to be an American, particularly for those of us from immigrant backgrounds, who maintain an affinity and appreciation for our home country.
Unsurprisingly, Trump’s latest disgusting attack on American Jews received the same response it almost always does from his fellow Republicans: crickets. If you were searching social media to find a prominent Republican who criticized Trump’s threatening language you were out of luck.
This, of course, is the same political party that regularly castigates Democrats for not speaking out against antisemitic members in their own camp. Or as Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said earlier this month, in defending Kanye West after he tweeted out an explicit threat against American Jews, he can’t really be an anti-Semite since he 100 percent supports Israel—as if the latter somehow excuses the former.
As one exasperated Jewish friend texted to me on Sunday evening, “all you f***ers who tell me you can’t support the Democrats because Rashida (Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan) or Omar (Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota) are antisemites. Where the f** are you today?”
For years, Republicans have been more than happy to ignore Trump’s racism and misogyny—considering it politically useful to look the other way as he attacks minority groups as insufficiently American. But then again for Trump’s Republican enablers, unlike the Jewish Americans he vilified on Sunday, their true allegiance is clear—and it’s not to America.
