News

Jewish Neocons Tweet Shade, Schadenfreude at Trump’s Debate Performance

Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon September 27, 2016

It was a night of huffing and puffing, snorting and smarting, hectoring and interrupting for Donald Trump at the first presidential debate at Hofstra University. The media consensus — even the right-leaning Fox News — held that Hillary Clinton won. Jewish conservatives, many of them Never-Trumpers, signaled their agreement in a series of derisive tweets. Here’s a selection of them.

Ben Shapiro, the editor of The Daily Wire and no fan of Trump, was surprised to see the candidate’s relatively strong performance at the starting bell:

Then he chronicled Trump’s deterioration:

A few couldn’t hide their disgust.

“I have a much better temperament than she has.” Trump’s only laugh line of the night. Inadvertent of course. #Debates2016

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) September 27, 2016

can’t believe he is defending birtherism, Holt fact checked on continuing to raise it

— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) September 27, 2016

This is why Trump is doing so badly with women. His own words are the most powerful condemnations of his candidacy.

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) September 27, 2016

John Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary Magazine, brought the snark, mocking Trump’s statements on the Islamic state, health accusations, and persistent sniffles.

She was fighting The Mighty Isis in 1974

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) September 27, 2016

Maybe she slipped him the pneumonia with the handshake.

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) September 27, 2016

_Contact

Hillary should open the next debate by asking Donald if he’s over the sniffles.

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) September 27, 2016

Bill Kristol, head of The Weekly Standard and no fan of Hillary Clinton either, rose above his dislike to call it like he saw it.

Irony: Hillary, the alleged policy wonk, isn’t particularly good at explaining policies. But she’s a pretty tough fighter.

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) September 27, 2016

And where does that leave us?

_Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon__

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO