Trump Makes Pitch to Jewish Voters, Says Israel Will Be ‘Eradicated’ if Harris Wins Election

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump urged Jewish voters to support his campaign while speaking at the Israeli-American Council (IAC) summit in Washington, DC on Thursday.

Trump, who served as US president from 2017 to 2021, pitched himself as an ally of the Jewish people and the state of Israel. He also stated that if he loses the election, “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with the loss.”

The former president expressed confusion as to why he’s not polling at “100 percent” with Jewish voters, arguing that the Democratic Party has accelerated the surge of antisemitism across the United States. He claimed that Jews who support Democratic nominee Kamala Harris “should have their head examined.”

Trump also warned the audience that if he loses the election, “a lot of bad things will happen” to the Jewish American community and claimed that under a Kamala Harris administration, the state of Israel will be “eradicated.”

“Get smart. Here we have had the worst outbreak of antisemitism in many generations,” Trump said. 

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report in April showing antisemitic incidents in the US rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high. Most of the outrages occurred after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, during the ensuing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Reflecting on the Oct. 7 terror attacks, he called the slaughter of roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping of 251 hostages a “wake-up call for the entire world” and vowed that he would deport those sympathetic to terrorist groups. 

“We will get them out of our country. I will ban refugee resettlement from terror infested areas like the Gaza Strip, and we will seal our border and bring back the travel ban,” Trump said. “Remember the famous travel ban?”

Trump also promised to secure the freedom of the remaining American hostages in Gaza if re-elected to the White House. 

“We’re going to get them out; they’re going to come out,” he said. “We pray for you, and somehow it’s going to work out. We’re going to get it to work out.”

Trump also unloaded on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US Congress, as a “proud member of Hamas.” He accused Jewish Democrats of hating Israel and “their religion.”

Trump has repeatedly suggested during his rallies that Schumer has become “like a Palestinian.”

The Republican nominee also asserted that universities that do not protect Jewish students will face consequences from his administration. He vowed that universities “that do not end antisemitic propaganda” will have their accreditation revoked and federal funding slashed. 

“We will not subsidize the creation of terrorist sympathizers,” Trump said. 

Some US Jewish groups slammed Trump for his remarks, particularly saying Jews would be in part to blame if he were to lose in November.

“I appreciate that former President Trump called out antisemitism and recognized its historic surge. He’s right on that. But the effect is undermined by then employing numerous antisemitic tropes and anti-Jewish stereotypes — including rampant accusations of dual loyalty,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.

“Preemptively blaming American Jews for your potential election loss does zero to help American Jews,” Greenblatt continued. “It increases their sense of alienation in a moment of vulnerability when right-wing extremists and left-wing antizionists continually demonize and slander Jews.”

Trump has made numerous overtures to the Jewish community in recent months, attempting to win over a significant share of the traditionally-liberal voting bloc. He has delivered speeches at various events catered toward the Jewish community, including the Republican Jewish Coalition. The former president also co-hosted an event focusing on antisemitism at his Trump National Golf Club Bedminster alongside prominent Jewish donor Miriam Adelson.    

The former president has touted his former administration’s support for Israel as a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign. During his single term in office, Trump recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic region on Israel’s northern border previously controlled by Syria. He also moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing the city as the Jewish state’s capital. The Trump administration also helped to broker the Abraham Accords, which normalized Israel’s relations with four Arab countries in 2020.

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