Donald Trump is facing steep criticism after a recent interview in which he, in religious terms, went after the many Jewish Americans who support Democratic candidates in elections.
Trump was speaking with Sebastian Gorka, a former member of Trump’s presidential team when the now presumptive Republican nominee for president this year was still in the White House. “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion,” Trump said, as highlighted by CNN. “They hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed.”
Some of those to respond shared comments with the news site Axios. “Trump demonstrates daily his lack of fitness for the presidency by spreading dangerous stereotypes and embracing antisemites,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).
Trump was criticized for hosting Nicholas Fuentes — a figure on the far-right known as a white supremacist and anti-Semite — at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago, though Trump tried to somewhat distance himself from Fuentes afterwards. It’s not just Trump, though. Even Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who — although known as leaning into the extreme — remains a prominent GOP voice, spoke at a conference that Fuentes puts on, though she too eventually tried to distance herself.
The Biden campaign also seized on the latest developments involving that rhetoric from Trump, which mirrors remarks that he’s made previously. “Donald Trump openly demeans Jewish Americans and reportedly thinks Adolf Hitler ‘did some good things,'” the campaign said, adding: “Trump is going to lose again this November because Americans are sick of his hateful resentment, personal attacks, and extreme agenda.”
It’s not the only seriously criticized bit of Trump’s recent rhetoric. At an Ohio rally, he said there’d be a “bloodbath” if he loses in this year’s elections. Though he and his team tried to characterize the comments as just referring to feared consequences in the United States’ auto industry, others weren’t so sure. “If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole — that’s gonna be the least of it,” Trump said at the rally. “It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country. That’ll be the least of it.”
