Trump Accuses Any American Jew Who Votes for Dems of Showing 'Disloyalty'

Emily Jones
08-21-2019

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JERUSALEM, Israel – President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that any American Jew who votes for the Democratic Party shows "either total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty," sparking accusations from Jewish leaders that he is repeating the age-old anti-Semitic trope of dual loyalty.

"I think any Jewish people who would vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty," Trump said during a press conference at the White House with President Klaus Iohannis of Romania.

Trump was responding to a reporter's question about US congresswomen Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who said the US should cut aid to Israel because she and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) were banned from the country due to their promotion of boycotts against the Jewish state.

"Five years ago, the concept of even talking about cutting off aid to Israel because of two people who hate Israel and hate Jewish people - I can't believe we are having this conversation. Where has the Democratic party gone? Where have they gone where they are defending these two people over the state of Israel?" Trump during the press conference.

Jewish leaders slammed Trump for charging American Jews with disloyalty if they disagree with his politics. 

"It's unclear who @POTUS is claiming Jews would be 'disloyal' to, but charges of disloyalty have long been used to attack Jews," said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. "As we've said before, it's possible to engage in the democratic process w/o these claims. It's long overdue to stop using Jews as a political football."

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) called the presidents comments "disrespectful."

"Enough, Mr. President. American Jews – like all Americans – have a range of political views. Your assessment of their knowledge or loyalty, based on their party preference, is divisive, disrespectful, and unwelcome. Please stop.

"This is a free country. Jews aren't a monolithic bloc, nor single-issue voters. Some will vote Democratic, others Republican. As Americans, that's their right. Please keep loyalty out of it," AJC CEO David Harris added.

Jewish pro-Israel activist and writer Bari Weiss also condemned the president.

"The notion of provisional belonging--that Jews aren't really American or French or whatever if they don't do xx--is an idea with a hideous history. N.B. Some 75% of American Jews vote Democrat," she said.

A March Gallop poll revealed that most American Jews vote Democrat and exit polls from the 2018 midterm election found that nearly 80% of Jews voted for Democrats.

Trump's comments triggered a quick reaction on social media, with many Jewish Americans tweeting out that they are disloyal to the president. The hashtag #DisloyalToTrump was the third-highest trending topic on Twitter in the US.

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About The Author

Emily
Jones

Emily Jones is a multi-media journalist for CBN News in Jerusalem. Before she moved to the Middle East in 2019, she spent years regularly traveling to the region to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meet with government officials, and raise awareness about Christian persecution. During her college years, Emily served as president of Regent University's Christians United for Israel chapter and spoke alongside world leaders at numerous conferences and events. She is an active member of the Philos Project, an organization that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement with the Middle
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