Delivering remarks on antisemitism in battleground Pennsylvania, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff blasted his wife’s GOP opponent for the White House, former President Donald Trump, as someone who would “turn his back” on Jewish people if it benefited him.
At the same time, he stressed Vice President Kamala Harris’ commitment to Israel – a topic that has become a major focus this election cycle as some in the Democratic party, particularly in battleground Michigan, express concern about the Biden administration’s continued support for the country amid the war in Gaza.
“Donald Trump demands loyalty – but he is loyal to nothing but himself,” Emhoff said while delivering remarks at the University of Pittsburgh on Monday night. “If it suited his selfish interests, Trump would turn his back on Israel and the Jewish people on a dime.”
Trump has for years denigrated Jewish people who vote for Democrats as part of his appeal to Jewish voters, lashing out at those who do not support him and aired his frustrations that American Jews are not sufficiently supportive for his liking.
"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.
This year, Trump has said multiple times that Jewish voters who back Democrats “should have their head examined,” as well as charging they “hate Israel” and hate “their religion.” He’s also charged that Vice President Harris, who is married to a Jewish man, “doesn’t like Jewish people,” and said last month at an event aimed at combatting antisemitism that if he doesn’t win in November, “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss.” He's made similar comments in recent weeks aimed at Black and Latino voters who support Harris.
Emhoff, who is the first Jewish spouse of any president or vice president, went on to allude to comments made by Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, that surfaced last week. Kelly told The Atlantic that the former president said he wanted the kind of generals that Adolf Hitler had.
“We should never have to wonder whether our leaders are praising Nazis behind closed doors,” Emhoff said.
Earlier in his remarks, he directly referenced Kelly’s comments, saying: “He looks at Adolf Hitler’s generals and sees something to admire.”
The second gentleman more generally referred to Trump as an “agent of chaos and cruelty” and criticized his rally on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, which has received significant attention, particularly for comments from those who spoke before the former president, including a comedian who referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”
“We heard the antisemitic and racist speeches at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally yesterday,” Emhoff said. “It’s appalling to hear those slurs, especially in the closing days of a campaign – and even more painful to hear them on the anniversary of the massacre at Tree of Life.”
Emhoff’s stop in Pittsburgh on Monday came just after the six-year anniversary of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in which 11 people were killed, marking the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the U.S.
Emhoff also used his remarks to speak about the rise in antisemitism in the U.S., particularly after Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which sparked the more than one-year-old war. The second gentleman, who has helped lead the White House’s strategy to counter antisemitism, noted that it was an “uncomfortable and unsettling time to be Jewish.”
“In the rooms where you used to feel safe, you no longer feel welcome. It didn’t always feel this lonely to be Jewish in America,” he said, before going on to praise his wife.
“But I’ll tell you one place I’ve never felt that – where I’ve actually felt the opposite: the home I share with Kamala,” Emhoff said.
He went on to note that he has spoken with Harris “before and after” calls with Israeli leaders and stressed her “unwavering” commitment to Israel’s security. Emhoff said Harris has always worked to strengthen the bonds between the U.S. and Israel.
“She knows those bonds must remain strong regardless of which administration or leader is in power,” he said.
Harris has faced pushback from some within the Democratic Party over the Biden administration’s support of Israel amid its retaliatory campaign in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. Protesters regularly interrupt the vice president’s events over the issue and some key groups, such as the Arab American Political Action Committee in Michigan, which has previously backed Democrats, have chosen not to endorse in the presidential contest this year.
The issue has taken a particular significance in the key swing state of Michigan, home to the largest population of Arab Americans in the U.S.
“On the subject of Gaza, we all want this war to end as soon as possible and get the hostages out,” Harris responded to protesters who interrupted her speech in An Arbor, Michigan, on Monday. “And I will do everything in my power to make it so.”