Former President Donald Trump said at an event in Washington aimed at fighting antisemitism on Thursday that if he loses in November, “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with the loss.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Trump said of Jews who vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. “Any Jewish person who votes for her should have their head examined. I find it hard to believe, part of it is a habit, I think.”
Trump said he should be polling at “100” percent with Jewish voters. “It’s going to happen. It’s only because of the Democrats’ hold or curse on you.”
And after rattling off polling about how he is faring with Jewish voters, Trump said that if he doesn’t win this election, “a lot of bad things will happen,” and warned Israel will be “eradicated.”
Trump made back-to-back speeches in Washington trying to woo Jewish American voters and slamming the rise in antisemitism. His remarks come shortly ahead of the one year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel that has sparked a bloody conflict in the Middle East and has been a major tension point between centrist Democrats and progressives that Republicans say has opened the door to Jewish support.
In his remarks Thursday, Trump called Oct. 7 “a wake-up call for the entire world” and received a standing ovation when he called on Harris to disavow “all Hamas sympathizers.”
“Get smart. Here we have had the worst outbreak of antisemitism in many generations,” Trump said.
The former president said that he plans to deport “foreign Jihad sympathizers and Hamas supporters” and said he would bring back his administration’s travel ban, which barred entry to the U.S. from a list of Muslim-majority countries.
“We will get them out of our country. I will ban refugee resettlement from terror infested areas like the Gaza Strip, and we will seal our border and bring back the travel ban,” Trump said. “Remember the famous travel ban?”
The former president has sought to portray himself as more supportive of Israel and the Jewish community than Harris and the Democratic Party and has touted his record on Israel as president, including his decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and his administration’s work brokering the Abraham Accords, an Arab–Israeli normalization agreement.
But as Trump has tried to win over Jewish voters, he has also insulted some Jewish American leaders and perpetuated what critics say is an antisemitic trope about Jewish Americans having dual loyalties to the U.S. and Israel.
Morgan Finkelstein, Harris’ campaign spokesperson, accused Trump of demeaning Jews and using antisemitic language and said he would turn on Israel to support his own personal interests.
“The Vice President has been incredibly clear: She has been a lifelong supporter of the State of Israel as a secure, democratic homeland for the Jewish people,” said Finkelstein. “She has an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel and will always stand up for its right to defend itself. She also stands steadfastly against antisemitism both at home and abroad and will do the same as President.”
Trump on Thursday once again accused Sen. Chuck Schumer — the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S. — of being a “proud member of Hamas.” He has declared Jews who vote for Democrats “hate Israel” and hate “their religion.” Schumer is publishing a book warning about antisemitism, and at the Democratic National Convention accused Trump of peddling “antisemitic stereotypes.”
Trump made a series of policy announcements relating to combating antisemitism and hate speech at American universities. He said that if he becomes president, colleges “that do not end antisemitic propaganda” will lose accreditation and be reported for violations of civil rights law.
“We will not subsidize the creation of terrorist sympathizers,” Trump said.
Trump’s remarks came just hours following a report from CNN about embattled North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson making disturbing comments including calling himself “Black Hitler.” Robinson has denied the report.
Trump was introduced at the Fighting Anti-Semitism event by GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, who described how antisemitism in the United States is “something none of us dreamt we would see in our lifetime.”
“It has turned elite universities into propaganda factories where Jews are not welcome, and it undermines our U.S. ally of a source of stability when the Middle East is in chaos,” Adelson said. “All of this should be on our mind before November 5.”
Adelson, the Las Vegas billionaire, and her late husband Sheldon Adelson, have been major donors to Trump and were the top Republican donors in the 2020 election. Although Adelson did not participate in fundraising for the GOP primaries, she has since poured millions into funding Preserve America, a super PAC backing Trump.
Lee Zeldin, the former GOP New York congressmember and gubernatorial candidate, who is Jewish, said Trump has an opportunity because Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, are “choosing their words extraordinarily carefully, and they’re upsetting a lot of longtime Democrat voting, Jewish supporters who want to see more courage and leadership.”
“The Democrats are alienating a larger amount of the Jewish population, and they are bleeding out support because of it,” he said.
Jewish voters have overwhelmingly voted for Democrats for decades, but Republicans have asserted they are chipping away some support. Trump has even claimed, without evidence, that he has “probably around the 50 percent mark” with Jewish voters.
A recent Pew Research Center poll found that Harris has the support of 65 percent of Jewish registered voters, compared with Trump with 34 percent support. But the poll reflects an increase in support for Trump since the 2020 election, when Pew’s voter survey reported Trump won 27 percent of Jewish voters.
“There is a perfect storm of issues that is coming together to make an inflection point in the Jewish Community,” said Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, which is pouring $15 million in advertising into battleground states to focus on Jewish voters.
“It’s going to be a jump ball election, and a shift in the Jewish vote could alter the state of this election.”