Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump drew outrage from the White House, Democrats and leaders of Jewish groups for saying Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats hate their religion and Israel.
“Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves,” said Trump, who hopes to unseat President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
“The Democrat Party hates Israel,” he said in the interview with his former adviser Sebastian Gorka posted on his website on Monday.
Groups including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Democratic Council of America condemned Trump’s remarks for tying religion to how people might vote.
Asked to comment on Trump’s remarks, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday: “There is no justification for spreading toxic, false stereotypes that threaten fellow citizens,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
After Trump’s remarks were posted, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, wrote on social media platform X on Monday: “Trump is making highly partisan and hateful rants. I am working in a bipartisan way to ensure the US-Israeli relationship sustains for generations to come, buoyed by peace in the Middle East.”
Last Thursday, Schumer, the highest-ranking U.S. Jewish elected official and a longtime supporter of Israel, criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace five months into a war in Gaza that began with attacks on Israel by Hamas militants on Oct. 7.