Former US President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was criticized on Friday, after he warned that Jewish voters would bear some of the blame if he lost the presidential election in November.
Trump’s comments were made during his appearance at an event on antisemitism in Washington, DC, on Thursday evening.
"I'll put it to you very simply and as gently as I can: I wasn't treated properly by the voters who happen to be Jewish," Trump said, adding, "I don't know. Do they know what the hell is happening if I don't win this election? And the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens, because at 40% that means 60% of the people are voting for the enemy."
Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign blasted Trump’s comment.
"Donald Trump is resorting to the oldest antisemitic tropes in the book because he's weak and can't stand the fact that the majority of America is going to reject him in November. But we know that words like these can have dangerous consequences," Harris campaign national security spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said in a statement quoted by ABC News.
"As Trump has proven, including over the past few weeks with his lies about Springfield, Ohio, he will cling to fearmongering and intimidation, no matter the cost," added Finkelstein.
"When Donald Trump loses this election, it will be because Americans from all faiths, ethnicities, and backgrounds came together to turn the page on the divisiveness he demonstrates every day," Finkelstein stated.
Harris' husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff wrote on X that Jewish Americans would not be "intimidated" by Trump's attacks.
"Last night, Donald Trump once again fanned the flames of antisemitism by trafficking in tropes blaming and scapegoating Jews. He even did it at an event purporting to fight antisemitism, no less," Emhoff wrote. "This is dangerous and must be condemned. We will not be intimidated and will continue to live openly, proudly, and without fear as Jews."
The remarks were also criticized by several Jewish organizations.
"Whoever a majority of the Jewish community votes for, Jews -- roughly 2 percent of the U.S. population -- cannot and should not be blamed for the outcome of the election," the American Jewish Committee wrote in a statement. "Setting up anyone to say, 'we lost because of the Jews' is outrageous and dangerous. Thousands of years of history have shown that scapegoating Jews can lead to antisemitic hate and violence."
Some Jewish voters will vote for Harris and some will vote for Trump, the AJC said, adding, "None of us, by supporting the candidate we choose, is 'voting for the enemy.'"
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblat said that Trump's comments contradicted the message of the antisemitic event at which he was speaking and can make it worse for Jewish Americans.
"Preemptively blaming American Jews for your potential election loss does zero to help American Jews. It increases their sense of alienation in a moment of vulnerability when right-wing extremists and left-wing anti-Zionists continually demonize and slander Jews. Let's be clear, this speech likely will spark more hostility and further inflame an already bad situation," wrote Greeblatt.
Meanwhile, the Republican Jewish Coalition praised Trump for his remarks on combatting antisemitism.
Matt Brooks, the CEO of the organization, told ABC News that he thought the comments about Jewish voters and the election were about motivating Jewish voters, and that Democratic claims otherwise are a deflection.
"I think what it was is the president trying to motivate the Jewish community," Brooks said, adding that Trump "realizes what's at stake" for American Jews, who feel unsafe in America due to a rise in antisemitism.
"This is an absolute distraction, to deflect that [Trump] made many significant and important contributions to the Jewish community," Brooks told ABC News, adding that Trump was also indicating how close of an election it may be in battleground states, where given the likely slim margin, "if the Jewish vote doesn't move in his favor, it may cost him the election."
Trump in his remarks on Thursday said that "more than any people on earth, Israel has to defeat [Harris]” and added, “I have to say this, and it hurts me to say it, you're going to still vote for Democrats, and it doesn't make sense. I say all the time, that any Jewish person that votes for Harris, especially now, her or the Democrat party, should have their head examined.”
Later in the evening, Trump addressed the opening plenary of the 2024 Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit, where he warned, “If we continue down our current path, with four more years of Kamala [Harris], Israel will be faced not just with an attack but with total annihilation.”
“I’ve said long and loud, and especially over the last few years: Anybody who’s Jewish, and loves being Jewish, and loves Israel, is a fool if they vote for a Democrat. But beyond that: If they love Israel, anyone who votes for Democrats and Kamala especially - she makes Barack Hussein Obama look like he loved Israel - you should have your head examined.”
“My message today is very simple: If you want Israel to survive, you need Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States. It’s very simple.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)