Louis Farrakhan Praises Donald Trump for Shunning ‘Jewish Money’
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Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has praised Donald Trump for refusing to take donations from Jews in his race for the White House.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, Farrakhan said in a sermon last week that the Republican frontrunner is the only presidential candidate “who has stood in front of [the] Jewish community, and said I don’t want your money.”
“Any time a man can say to those who control the politics of America, ‘I don’t want your money,’ that means you can’t control me,” Farrakhan said in a sermon at Chicago’s Mosque Maryam. “And they cannot afford to give up control of the presidency of the United States.”
Farrakhan appeared to be referencing Trump’s remarks to the Republican Jewish Coalition on December 3, when he said “You’re not gonna support me because I don’t want your money. You want to control your politicians, that’s fine. Five months ago I was with you.”
At the time, the ADL said that it did not believe Trump was intentionally evoking anti-Semitic canards, but called on Trump to distance himself from such conspiracies.
Farrakhan has a long history of making racist, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-Jewish comments, including blaming Israelis and Zionists for the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.
On the stump, Trump frequently boasts that his largely self-funded campaign puts him above the influence of traditional special interests. Trump’s claim has endeared him to anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists that believe a Jewish cabal covertly controls the United States.
Farrakhan is not the first anti-Semitic figure to voice support for Trump. Former KKK leader David Duke has praised Trump, but stopped short of a full endorsement, citing Trump’s friendliness to Jews and Israel.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
