Jewish GOP Lawmaker Walks Back Support For Trump On Charlottesville — A Bit
Image by YouTube
By Ari Feldman August 18, 2017
Congressman Lee Zeldin is the latest in a growing contingent of Jewish Republican political figures walking back their support for Trump. On CNN Friday morning Zeldin issued a more full-throated disagreement with the equivalence Trump drew on Tuesday between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. Zeldin’s first statement on the matter backed Trump’s take.
“I don’t know of anyone who would be there, who would associate themselves with that particular protest, who are good people,” Zeldin said.
Zeldin, who represents New York’s 1st District covering eastern Long Island, had originally defended Trump on Facebook.
“Antifa bused in criminals with bats and pepper spray for the purpose of committing acts of violence targeting anyone who was part of the protest against Charlottesville bringing down the statue of Robert E. Lee, whether associated with the KKK or Nazism or neither,” Zeldin wrote on Tuesday.
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief
