Former President Donald Trump on Thursday called on Jewish voters to overcome the Democratic Party's “curse” and increase his share of the Jewish community's vote to more than 40 percent, citing what he has done in the past for Jews and Israel.
President Trump made the remarks during a speech at the Israel-American Council (IAC) national summit in Washington DC.
After being warmly welcomed by Dr. Miriam Adelson, wife of the late Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, Trump spoke of his achievements for Israel and the Jewish community, including moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
He also renewed his campaign pledge to stop anti-Semitism on campuses by defunding and decertifying institutions that allow it to thrive, and called on his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, to disavow her support from anti-Israel voters.
But in an apparently improvised portion of his speech, Trump told the audience he was disappointed that his support among Jewish voters only increased from 25% to 29% (30.5%, according to the Republican Jewish Coalition) between 2016 and 2020. He said winning 40% of the Jewish vote in 2024 isn't enough.
“I did all these things and only got 29% [in 2020]”So I wasn't treated right. But I'm not the one who was treated badly. … You weren't treated right,” Trump said.
Trump said that while the Jewish community is small, Jewish voters could be a big factor in the election, and warned that if Jewish voters (who could be a key base of support in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Nevada) did not turn out, they could be “a big factor in my defeat.”
“This is inevitable. 40 percent is unacceptable because we have to win the election,” Trump said.
Given that many of the IAC's members are from Israel, the crowd was incredibly supportive, applauding comments that mainstream, center-left media have suggested are shocking or even anti-Semitic, such as Trump's assertion that Jews who vote Democratic should “have their heads checked” — a sentiment shared among conservative Jews.
He noted that while he enjoys strong support in Israel (he exaggerated somewhat by saying “99 percent”), that hasn't translated into the same level of support among American Jews.
And it's not just about him, he said.
He noted that the 2024 elections could be the most important U.S. election in history for Israel, given that the country faces war on multiple fronts.
People hold banners as former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the Israeli-American Council National Summit in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump joked that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had “turned Palestinian” after his recent shift toward an anti-Israel stance. Schumer was “total Hamas,” Trump said, adding, “I don't know what the hell happened to him.”
Whatever it is that keeps Jewish voters in the Democratic Party (at one point he suggested it was “habit”), Trump warned that Harris “hates Israel” and that if she was elected Israel would be “eliminated” — a warning he has issued before.
“This is a hard thing to say. … I've told the truth, and maybe it will cheer you up, because there's no way I'm going to get 40 percent of the vote. I'm your protector. These are the people who are going to destroy you, and 60 percent of the Jewish people are voting for them.
“If I win, Israel will be safe and secure, and we will be able to stop and halt the poison of anti-Semitism from spreading across America and around the world.”
Trump's work on behalf of the Jewish community, such as his executive orders protecting Jewish students from discrimination on campus and his policies toward Israel, has received little recognition from institutional leaders in the Jewish community, with only the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) among major nonpartisan Jewish groups honoring his contributions.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday It airs Sundays from 7:00pm-10:00pm ET (4:00pm-7:00pm PT) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of the following books: Agenda: What President Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysavailable for pre-order on Amazon. He also Trumpian virtues: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump's presidencyavailable now on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
