Jewish Democratic lawmakers are livid over President Donald Trump's remarks this week accusing Jewish Americans of “great disloyalty” if they vote for Democrats, saying the president is stoking anti-Semitism.
The lawmakers' outrage comes as Trump continued his attacks on Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who he accused of hating Israel over their push for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel.
“When he uses a trope that’s been used against the Jewish people for centuries with dire consequences, he is encouraging — wittingly or unwittingly — anti-Semites throughout the country and world,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) tweeted on Wednesday. “Enough.”
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) also called on Trump to stop using “this kind of rhetoric.” He said on CNN Tuesday night that the president was “creating an environment in which anti-Semitism can flourish” and urged Democrats and Republicans alike to condemn the president’s remark.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also weighed in while campaigning in Iowa, saying, “I am a proud Jewish person. And I have no concerns about voting Democratic. And, in fact, I intend to vote for a Jewish man to become the next president of the United States.”
The president on Tuesday criticized Jewish voters who back Democrats, saying it shows "either a total lack of knowledge or a great disloyalty." On Wednesday, Trump quoted conservative commentator and conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root as saying the Jewish people in Israel love Trump "like he's the King of Israel. They love him like he’s the second coming of God.
" Trump further quoted Root saying "American Jews don’t know him or like him. They don’t even know what they’re doing or saying anymore.”The president also reignited his feud Wednesday morning with Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Omar (D-Minn.) — the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. His accusations that the progressive lawmakers are anti-Israel came to a head last week when he urged Israel to deny the pair entry into the country. Israel, which barred the pair, later said it would allow Tlaib to visit her grandmother in the West Bank. But the Michigan lawmaker refused, saying she opposed the restrictions placed on her.
Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) also criticized Trump’s remarks on MSNBC Tuesday and emphasized that Jewish voters are not a monolith.
“Our president has no business trying to divide people based on their religion or politicizing people’s religion,” she said. “Being Jewish is also very much a cultural issue — it’s not just about religion — and the president seems to fail to understand that.”
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine