Jewish Politicos Flay Trump Over ‘Disgraceful!’ Podesta Tweet At G20

The start of John Podesta’s tweetstorm after Trump said Podesta was the talk of the town at the G20 summit. Image by Twitter

By Ari Feldman July 7, 2017

Donald Trump has provoked confusion, ridicule and sarcasm from the Twittersphere after tweeting from the G20 that “Everyone here is talking about why John Podesta refused to give the DNC server to the FBI and the CIA. Disgraceful!” The tweet, which was thoroughly debunked, was roundly mocked by Jewish politicos.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s the big talk at G20. Not climate change or trade, but why didn’t John Podesta give a server that wasn’t his to the CIA,” tweeted Representative Adam Schiff.

David Axelrod echoed Schiff’s disbelief: “THAT’s what everyone is talking about?!? Not trade, climate change, refugees, North Korea, Syria …they’re talking about JOHN PODESTA?!?”

Podesta, who apparently realized he was being tweeted about by the president while on a road trip, called Trump a “whack job.” “Dude, get your head in the game,” Podesta tweeted.

At least one vocal Trump support had a more cynical take on Trump’s tweet: “And with one tweet, President Trump gets the entire media talking about John Podesta on the day he meets Putin. Well-played,” tweeted Jack Posobiec, who is not Jewish.

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO