Former President Trump met swift blowback on Sunday after he said on social media that American Jews must “get their act together” to show appreciation for Israel “before it is too late.”
“No President has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“Those living in Israel, though, are a different story – Highest approval rating in the World, could easily be P.M.! U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel – Before it is too late!” Trump added.
The former president’s comments came under fire online, taken by some as a threat against the community as well as reiterating the trope that Jews are being disloyal to Israel by voting for Democrats.
“Nothing to see here. Just a former US president using threatening language about American Jews at a time when antisemitism is on a global rise,” wrote The Jerusalem Post’s editor-in-chief, Yaakov Katz.
Retired Army Col. Alexander Vindman warned that the former president “is executing the fascist playbook to turn his mob on Jews” and said the comment cannot be ignored.
As Democrats were quick to criticize Trump’s post, Vindman also called out the Republican silence.
“Has a single Republican denounced Trump threatening American… Jewish Americans?” he asked.
The comments aren’t the first time Trump has attacked American Jews’ loyalties or leaned on antisemitic tropes. He said in 2019 that Jews who vote Democrat are disloyal, comments that were condemned by Jewish groups.
According to the nonpartisan Jewish Electorate Institute survey, which was released last month, 70 percent of Jewish voters approve of President Biden’s job performance, while 19 percent have a favorable opinion of Trump.
The Anti-Defamation League’s Jonathan Greenblatt on Sunday accused Trump of “Jewsplaining” and said that “we don’t need the former president, who curries favor with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the US-Israel relationship.”
Former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod also knocked Trump for the comments, saying that “everything–EVERYTHING—about this guy is transactional and about HIM. And that’s just the beginning of what is offensive about his post.”
Biden adviser Neera Tanden weighed in on her personal Twitter account that “we should all stand against what feels like a growing chorus of anti-Semitism. There should be no quarter for it in our politics or culture.”
The Jewish Democratic Council of America called the post “more unabashed antisemitism from GOP leader Donald Trump.”
“His threat to Jewish Americans and his continued use of the antisemitic dual loyalty trope fuels hatred against Jews. We will not be threatened by Donald Trump and Jewish Americans will reject GOP bigotry this November,” the council wrote.
The Hill has reached out to a Trump spokesperson for comment on the criticism.