Former President Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats "hate Israel" and hate "their religion," igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Trump, in an interview, had been asked about Democrats' growing criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the war in Gaza as the civilian death toll continues to mount.
"I actually think they hate Israel," Trump responded to his former aide, Sebastian Gorka. "I think they hate Israel. And the Democrat party hates Israel."
Trump, who last week became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, went on to charge: "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."
The comments sparked immediate backlash from the White House, President Joe Biden's campaign and Jewish leaders. The vast majority of Jewish Americans identify as Democrats, but Trump has often accused them of disloyalty, perpetuating what critics say is an antisemitic trope.
At the White House, spokesperson Andrew Bates cast the comments as "vile and unhinged Antisemitic rhetoric" without mentioning Trump by name.
"As Antisemitic crimes and acts of hate have increased across the world — among them the deadliest attack committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust — leaders have an obligation to call hate what it is and bring Americans together against it," he said. "There is no justification for spreading toxic, false stereotypes that threaten fellow citizens. None."
Biden's campaign said, "The only person who should be ashamed here is Donald Trump."
"Trump is going to lose again this November because Americans are sick of his hateful resentment, personal attacks, and extreme agenda," said spokesman James Singer.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president in U.S. history, condemned Trump's remarks at an event on Tuesday.
"This is a disgusting, toxic, antisemitic thing to say by anyone, let alone a former president of the United States," Emhoff said.
Jonathan Greenblatt, who heads the Anti-Defamation League, said, "Accusing Jews of hating their religion because they might vote for a particular party is defamatory & patently false."
"Serious leaders who care about the historic US-Israel alliance should focus on strengthening, rather than unraveling, bipartisan support for the State of Israel," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Trump's comments come as Biden has been facing mounting pressure from the progressive wing of his party over his administration's support for Israel in its retaliatory offensive in Gaza. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.
While Biden continues to back Israel's right to defend itself, he has increasingly criticized Netanyahu. After his State of the Union speech, he said he needed to have a "come to Jesus" conversation with the Israeli leader. He has also accused Netanyahu of "hurting Israel more than helping Israel," saying, "he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken."
It's far from the first time Trump has questioned the loyalty of American Jews: In a post on his social media platform last year, Trump accused Jews who did not support him in 2020 of voting “to destroy America and Israel."
Trump last year posted an image on his Truth Social platform on the final day of Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar, criticizing “liberal Jews” for not appreciating his support of Israel and for buying into accusations of antisemitism leveled at Trump.
“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 last year was created by JEXIT, a group that aims to encourage American Jews to leave the Democratic party. It went on to say “Wake Up Sheep” and ask “What Natzi/Anti Semite ever did this for Jewish people or Israel?” as it listed off Trump administration policies regarding Israel and the treatment of Jews in the U.S.
Trump has previously dined with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and white supremacist Nick Fuentes, both of whom have praised Adolf Hitler and denied the Holocaust. Last month, Trump’s campaign compared his federal prosecution connected to his effort to overturn the 2020 election results to Nazi Germany, a statement the ADL denounced as “completely inappropriate and flat out offensive.”
When white supremacists chanted “Jews will not replace us” as they marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 and a neo-Nazi murdered a counterprotester, Trump said there “were very fine people, on both sides,” a remark he defended for years after.
Trump has also blamed one of his prosecutions — the case in New York regarding alleged hush money payments made to two women who claim they had affairs with him — on billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, a Holocaust survivor and frequent right-wing bogeyman.
For years, Trump has aired his frustrations that American Jews are not sufficiently supportive for his liking, often citing his administration pro-Israel policies like the move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or the recognition of disputed territory as wholly Israel’s.
"I think Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty," Trump said in 2019.
"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.," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last year, adding: "U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel – Before it is too late!"
Trump on Monday took particular issue with recent comments from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the country's highest-ranking Jewish official. In a speech last week, Schumer sharply criticized Netanyahu's handling of the war in Gaza, warning that the civilian toll was damaging Israel's standing around the world. He also called for Israel to hold new elections.
Schumer — whom Trump accused of being "very anti-Israel now" — responded by accusing Trump of "making highly partisan and hateful rants."
"To make Israel a partisan issue only hurts Israel and the US-Israeli relationship," he wrote on X.
Other Jewish lawmakers raged over Trump's comments.
"How dare Donald Trump lecture Chuck Schumer about being Jewish," Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin told Axios, callinmg Trump's comments "outrageous slander" against the majority of American Jewish people.
"Luckily I don't know any Jews who look to Donald Trump for advice on how to be Jewish," Raskin told the outlet, adding: "After all, this is the guy who saw 'very fine people on both sides' of an antisemitic riot and entertained the neo-Nazi Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes over at his house at Mar-a-Lago for dinner."
Vermont Rep. Becca Balint, the first Jewish member of Congress to call for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, called Trump "truly hateful man who's trying everything in his power to get Americans to hate each other," per the outlet.
North Carolina Rep. Kathy Manning called Trump's rhetoric "particularly disgraceful and dangerous at a time when Jews are facing dangerous levels of antisemitism nationwide," per Axios, while Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz told the outlet that the former president "demonstrates daily his lack of fitness for the presidency by spreading dangerous stereotypes and embracing antisemites." Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips told Axios that Trump's comments "revolting, repugnant and reprehensible."
The Pew Research Center reported in 2021 that Jews are "among the most consistently liberal and Democratic groups in the U.S.," with 7 in 10 Jewish adults identifying with or leaning toward the Democratic Party. In 2020, it found that nearly three-quarters of American Jews disapproved of Trump's performance as president, with just 27% rating him positively.
Americans have also increasingly soured on Israel's military operation in Gaza, according to surveys from The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. In January, 50% of U.S. adults said the military response from Israel in the Gaza Strip had gone too far, up from 40% in November.
That number was higher among Democrats, 6 in 10 of whom said the same thing in both surveys.
Spectrum News' Joseph Konig contributed to this report.