Maddow Blog | Trump says Jewish voters will bear ‘a lot’ of blame if he loses
About a month ago, after seeing Gov. Josh Shapiro's remarks at the Democratic National Convention, Donald Trump decided to take a rhetorical shot at his critic. The Pennsylvania Democrat, the former wrote online , is a "highly overrated Jewish Governor."
In context, there was no reason for the Republican to reference Shapiro's faith. What's more, while Trump attacks Democratic leaders on a daily basis, he never mentions Joe Biden 's, Kamala Harris' or Tim Walz's religious affiliation.
But when targeting Shapiro, the GOP nominee wanted the world to know that he considers the governor both "highly overrated" and "Jewish."
A month later, Trump spoke at separate events with largely Jewish audiences and marveled at his lack of support among Jewish voters. Of course, as NBC News reported , that's not all he said.
"I'm not going to call this a prediction, but in my opinion, the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss if I'm at 40%," the Republican said during a campaign event titled "Fighting Antisemitism in America," referencing a poll that doesn't appear to exit.
It's important to emphasize that Trump not only thought it'd be a good idea to tell a Jewish audience that he'll blame Jews, at least in part, for his election defeat, he did so twice in the span of half a day.
The Republican began by declaring, at an event ostensibly focused on denouncing antisemitism, that if he loses his bid for a second term, then "the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss." Soon after, at an event focused on Israeli Americans, Trump proceeded to blame Jews whom he described as "voting for the enemy."
For the GOP's presidential candidate, the "enemy," of course, referred to American candidates he doesn't like.
In case all of this weren't quite enough, Trump went on to say he has not been "treated right" by Jewish voters, whom he has repeatedly accused of disloyalty.
There's no shortage of angles to a story like this, but I continue to marvel at the fact that the former president apparently believes he has credibility when it comes to antisemitism, but he really doesn't.
As regular readers might recall , it was earlier this year when Trump also invoked a familiar dual loyalty trope by claiming that Jewish voters who support Democrats hate Israel. To put it mildly, Jewish Democrats in Congress were not impressed.
An Axios report quoted Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, for example, saying, "Trump demonstrates daily his lack of fitness for the presidency by spreading dangerous stereotypes and embracing antisemites." Rep. Kathy Manning of North Carolina added that the former president's rhetoric is "particularly disgraceful and dangerous at a time when Jews are facing dangerous levels of antisemitism nationwide."
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland issued an especially pointed response, noting, "Luckily I don't know any Jews who look to Donald Trump for advice on how to be Jewish. 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."
That larger pattern was of particular interest. During his 2016 campaign, for example, Trump spoke to the Republican Jewish Coalition and said , "You're not gonna support me because I don't want your money. You want to control your politicians." He added , "I'm a negotiator — like you folks."
Several months later, in the run-up to Election Day 2016, the Republican promoted antisemitic imagery through social media. In the closing days of the campaign, Trump again faced accusations of antisemitism, claiming Hillary Clinton met "in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers."
While in office, the then-president used some highly provocative rhetoric about Jews and what he expected about their "loyalties." Trump also spoke at the Israeli American Council's national summit, where he suggested Jewish people are primarily focused on wealth, which is why he expected them to support his re-election campaign.
There was also his ugly reaction to a racist event in Charlottesville in 2017, in response to torch-wielding bigots chanting, "Jews will not replace us."
After his defeat, Trump kept this going, whining that Jewish voters "don't love Israel enough," dining with prominent antisemites at Mar-a-Lago and arguing that Jews need to "get their act together" and "appreciate" Israel "before it is too late."
In late 2022, the former president went so far as to declare that Jewish leaders "should be ashamed of themselves" over their "lack of loyalty." Around the same time, he added to the list, using related rhetoric about Jews with a documentary filmmaker.
In his earlier campaigns, Trump has struggled badly with Jewish voters. If he thinks his latest remarks will turn things around, the Republican probably ought to lower his expectations.
This post updates our related earlier coverage .
