Speaking at a pro-Israel conference on combating anti-Semitism, former President Trump warned of a catastrophic future for Israel if he loses November's election.
The Republican presidential candidate has called the estimated 60 percent of Jewish people in America “stupid” and said they should “get their heads checked” if they vote for Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Harris.
“If I don't win this election — and the Jews have a lot to do with that, 60 percent are voting for my opponent — Israel will be gone within two years,” Trump told a friendly and receptive audience. “I believe I'm 100 percent right… If I win, Israel will be safe and secure, and we'll be able to stop the poison that is anti-Semitism.”
Trump attended a conference of the Israeli-American Council in Washington, D.C., accompanied by Miriam Adelson, wife of the late casino magnate and Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson. Miriam Adelson is the wife of former President Biggest donorAdelson has contributed about $100 million to the campaign. He is also a donor to IAC.
“Miriam is the reason I'm here working so hard,” Trump joked to the crowd, who greeted him with a standing ovation and chants of “Trump.” One woman unfurled a fabric banner that read “Fight, fight, fight,” a reference to the cry Trump yelled after surviving his first assassination attempt.
It was Trump's first trip back to Washington DC since the second assassination attempt at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he gave the speech at the Washington Hilton, the site of a 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan.
But Trump only mentioned once that he survived a shooting in July when a gunman's bullet hit him in the ear during a rally in Pennsylvania, and said his life was saved by seeing his “favorite graph” showing immigration numbers during his time in office.
But on the topic of combating anti-Semitism, Trump promised that if elected he would “confront the crisis of anti-Semitism on campuses and tell college presidents that if they don't stop the anti-Semitic propaganda, they will lose their accreditation and all federal funding.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said Thursday that anti-Israel incidents on college campuses had increased 477 percent in one year, but that the incidents also referenced classic anti-Semitic tropes such as Jewish wealth, greed and control of politics. The ADL also recorded 28 assaults.
But most of his remarks were focused on urging Jewish communities in America and Israel to vote.
A majority of American Jews support Harris over Trump (72 percent to 25 percent). Poll released this month By the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
But the Republican Jewish Coalition, an advocacy and political action group, is focused on shifting the American Jewish vote in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Arizona and Georgia. $10 million ad buy Earlier this month.
The ads portray Harris as “anti-Israel” and link her to the progressive House Democratic “unit,” which has been some of the most vocal critics of Israel in Congress and has been criticized for comments deemed anti-Semitic.
“Anyone who votes for a Democrat or Kamala is the worst… they should get their head checked,” Trump said during his speech.
“A constant, bloody war to eradicate the Jewish people and their nation and drive the Jews from their Holy Land. They will not forgive the Jews. You learned that on October 7th,” Trump said, seeking to make clear the gravity of his defeat.
“The US elections are the most important elections in Israel's history. How ridiculous that sounds when you think about it, but it's true.”
Trump's comments came just before the one-year anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, when the group breached the wall separating the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, killing an estimated 1,200 people in their homes and in the streets and targeting a music festival.
Hamas kidnapped an estimated 250 people from Israel, and about 100 remain hostages, dead or alive. An estimated 40,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were killed in the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas.
Iran, which supports Hamas, and its proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, have also been trading fire, bringing the region to the brink of all-out conflict.
The Biden administration is pushing for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement similar to a week-long ceasefire that led to the release of more than 100 hostages in late November.
