Analysis: In twin speeches, expect Trump to present himself as Jews’ secular savior
Former President Donald Trump on Sept. 13, 2024. Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh September 18, 2024
Former President Donald Trump will deliver back-to-back speeches in Washington, D.C., on Thursday in which he will likely present himself as Jews’ secular savior.
In his first speech, to a group of “Jewish leaders from all walks of life,” according to the Trump campaign, he will talk about rising antisemitism. In the evening he will address the annual summit of the Israeli American Council.
Both events are affiliated with Miriam Adelson, widow of GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, who has committed to spend more than $100 million to boost Trump’s presidential bid.
Trump’s goal with these twin speeches is to burnish his image as a staunch ally of the Jewish community and Israel, in hopes of appealing not only to Jewish voters, but evangelical Christian supporters of the Jewish state.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee for the third election in a row, has offended some Jewish Americans and Israelis in recent weeks by questioning the mental health of Jews who vote for Democrats, and for declaring that Israel would be destroyed within a few years if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the White House.
But the message may play well with conservatives who worry that Harris, though she presents herself as a staunch ally of Israel, will be swayed by its critics within her Democratic party.
On Thursday, expect Trump to deliver versions of these applause lines, which he has often used at campaign rallies and when addressing Jewish Americans.
‘If she’s president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now’
Trump said this during his Sept. 10 debate against Harris, adding “I’ve been pretty good at predictions, and I hope I’m wrong about that one.” Even some Republicans have taken issue with the suggestion. On Wednesday, during a campaign rally in Nassau County, N.Y., Trump said, “A vote for Kamala Harris is a vote to obliterate Israel – that’s what’s going to happen. Israel will not exist in two years.”
Relatedly, Trump has claimed, without evidence, that Oct. 7 wouldn’t have happened under his watch.
Harris’ allies point to her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, in which she made a forceful case for Israel’s security. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, who has been advising Harris on Israel-related issues in past months, said he is confident Harris will “have Israel’s back.”
‘Have your head examined’
Trump has repeatedly asserted that he’s baffled that most American Jews vote for Democrats. “Anybody that votes for them, if you’re Jewish or if you love Israel, you have to have your head examined,” Trump said at a press conference last month.
The Harris campaign responded: “Jewish people should not ‘have their head examined’ for not supporting him. That’s actually antisemitic.”
‘I was the best president in Israel’s history’
A recent poll showed Trump would get 58% compared to 25% for Harris if Israelis were given the chance to vote in the U.S. presidential election. Many Israelis appreciate how, as president, Trump relocated the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognized Israel’s control over the Golan Heights, withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and brokered the Abraham Accords.
He bragged in March to the Adelson-owned Israel Hayom news outlet: “I was the best president in the history of Israel.”
But Trump talks about his support for Israel as transactional, suggesting Israelis owe him loyalty in return. “I gave you Golan Heights,” Trump told a group of Jews who greeted him at his Miami golf course in May. “We gave you Golan Heights, remember that.” Earlier this month, Trump told Jewish Republicans, “Golan Heights was a big thing. I got it done in 15 minutes.”
Trump didn’t give Israel the Golan Heights, but recognized Israel’s control over the Golan Heights in 2019, which it seized in 1967. The recognition was viewed as a political boon for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was running in a tough reelection bid.
‘Bad Palestinian’
Trump has recently started using the term ‘Palestinian’ as a slur to describe Democrats who he accuses of being insufficiently supportive of Israel. In his June 27 debate with President Joe Biden, he called Biden “a bad Palestinian.”
He also labeled Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the U.S., a “Palestinian” and a “proud member of Hamas.”
Schumer has long spoken out against the brutality of Hamas, which the U.S. deems a terror group.
Trump hasn’t called Harris a Palestinian, but at the Sept. 10 debate he said she “hates Israel.”
While this name-calling may resonate with some of those who support a stronger stance against supporters of Palestinians, it can also come off as inflammatory and divisive.
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