Was President Trump Making a Point When He Called Out American Jews for Supporting Democrats? 

Dale Hurd
08-22-2019

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President Trump caused a firestorm of controversy Wednesday when he criticized Jews who support the Democrat Party, accusing them of disloyalty to Israel. 

Was it as some allege 'anti-Semitism' or was it a point that needed to be made?

It all started with the following comment: "In my opinion, you vote for a Democrat, you're being very disloyal to Jewish people and you're being very disloyal to Israel," Trump said. "And only weak people would say anything other than that."

And that has outraged some American Jewish leaders.

"I will be exactly clear on what that was: anti-Semitism," said J Street's Logan Bayroff. "The charge of disloyalty or dual loyalty has been used against Jews for thousands of years."

"75 to 80 percent of the American Jewish community regularly vote for the Democratic party and oppose Trump and calling the vast majority of that community disloyal and unintelligent, is a disgraceful smear," he continued. 

But the president doubled down. 

"Isn't that anti-Semitic?" a reporter asked. 

"No. No. No. Only in your head. It's only anti-Semitic in your head," the president responded. 

President Trump has raised a strange contradiction. Why do many Jews still support the left when it has largely turned against Israel, and why are so many Jews still Democrats, when some allege the party has been infected with anti-Semitism?

One store owner in Jersusalem said, "(Trump) is right, one million percent. The Democrats are not loyal. They were always against us, against the people, against the country, against Israel." 

"They brought us, Clinton and Obama," he continued. "What did Obama do? Only trouble. Trump is right."

And another Israeli said, "If (Trump) said it, in my opinion, I agree with him 100%."

This week, President Trump was dubbed "the King of Israel" on social media because he has supported Israel more than any other American president. His daughter and son-in-law are Jewish, so it's an awfully long stretch for liberals to say Trump is anti-Semitic. 

"I think they enjoy this because they feel that it distracts from them defending Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar," noted Neil Strauss of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

"It isn't great for them when the spotlight is on anti-Semitic members of Congress, so they'd like to make it about the president," he added. "But the truth is the president stands up for American Jews. He stands up for Jews around the world.  He's been a great friend to our community, and to Israel."

The Jerusalem Post took American Jewish Democrats to task, writing, in a commentary: "Much of the hostility to Israel within the Democratic party can be attributed to the passiveness of non-Orthodox American Jews...many of these consider support for social radicalism to be a far higher priority than support for Israel." 

Meanwhile, CBN News' Chief Political Analyst David Brody says most evangelical voters know Trump was just kidding around when he quoted his supporter who said Trump seen by the Israelis as "the King of Israel" and "The Second Coming."

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About The Author

Dale
Hurd

Since joining CBN News, Dale has reported extensively from Western Europe, as well as China, Russia, and Central and South America. Dale also covered China's opening to capitalism in the early 1990s, as well as the Yugoslav Civil War. CBN News awarded him its Command Performance Award for his reporting from Moscow and Sarajevo. Since 9/11, Dale has reported extensively on various aspects of the global war on terror in the United States and Europe. Follow Dale on Twitter @dalehurd and "like" him at Facebook.com/DaleHurdNews.
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