From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 7, 2024
Trump: ‘Israel has to get smart about Trump, because they don’t back me’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Former US president Donald Trump tells conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, “Israel has to do one thing. They have to get smart about Trump. Because they don’t back me. I did more for Israel than anybody, I did more for the Jewish people than anybody. And it’s not a reciprocal, as they say.”
It is unclear whether the Republican presidential nominee meant to say “American Jews,” instead of “Israel” in the first sentence, but he has often conflated the two, leading to accusations that he employs antisemitic dual loyalty tropes.
Trump has repeatedly rapped American Jews for not supporting him in higher numbers and said last month that Jews would deserve a lot of blame if he loses in November. But he does not typically claim that Israel does not support him, and in fact sometimes cites polling that shows Israelis back him in very high numbers.
Trump: "Israel has to do one thing. They have to get smart about Trump. Because they don't back me. I did more for Israel than anybody, I did more for the Jewish people than anybody. And it's not a reciprocal, as they say." pic.twitter.com/cbYO2hPKgi
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 7, 2024
The Times of Israel Community.