Speaking at a rally against anti-Semitism in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, former President Donald Trump pledged to be a “defender” of American Jews if he won, but also appeared to suggest that if he lost the election, it would be their fault.
“My promise to American Jews is this: With your vote, I will be your defender, your protector, and I will be the best friend American Jews have ever had in the White House,” Trump said.
In his speech to Jewish voters, Trump cited statistics — without specifying their source — suggesting that he has a lower percentage of Jewish voters willing to vote for him than Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I’m at 40 percent; that means you have 60 percent of the vote for someone who hates Israel,” Trump said, referring to the vice president. “That’s only because the Democrat[s] I put a curse on you. You can’t let this happen. 40% is not acceptable because we have an election to win.
Trump continued: “I really wasn’t treated right, but you weren’t treated right because you put yourself in great danger, and the United States wasn’t treated right.”
“I’m not going to say it’s a prediction, but in my opinion, the Jewish people have a lot to do with this defeat. If I have 40% of the vote, I think that means 60% of the vote is for Kamala, who is a bad Democrat. The Democrats are bad for Israel, very bad,” he said.
Later in the evening, at an event hosted by the Israeli-American Council, Trump continued the same theme.
Speaking about the election, he complained about his low support within the Jewish community, ending his speech by saying that Jewish voters did not treat him “right” after repeatedly saying that Jews who vote for a Democrat should have their heads examined.
“I’ll tell you very simply and as kindly as I can: I have not been treated right by the voters who happen to be Jewish,” he said. “I don’t know. Do they know what’s going to happen if I don’t win this election? And the Jewish people would have a lot to do with it if that happened, because 40 percent means 60 percent of the people are voting for the enemy. Israel, in my opinion, will cease to exist within two years, and I think I’m 100 percent sure of that,” Trump said as the crowd appeared to argue among themselves.
Earlier in the evening, at the anti-Semitic event, Trump called on his Democratic opponent to “disavow support for all Hamas sympathizers, anti-Semites, enemies of Israel, on college campuses and everywhere.”
