Seattle Jewish Republican Says Community Forced Him To Dump Donald Trump
Martin Selig Image by Martin Selig Real Estate
WASHINGTON — A prominent Jewish Republican donor is no longer backing Donald Trump, saying his support made him unpopular in Seattle’s Jewish community.
“Do you know what it’s like being a Jewish Republican in Seattle?” Martin Selig, a developer and a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition board, told the Seattle Times this week. “The repercussions of what you hear from people is stunning.”
Selig had appeared as a co-host on an invitation to a fundraiser Tuesday for the Republican presidential nominee, but said he was withdrawing and would not donate money to nor vote for Trump as result of community blowback.
Selig said he would write in a candidate.
His earlier endorsement of Trump was underwhelming: Selig said he was supporting the billionaire real estate magnate by default after Trump defeated an array of establishment GOP candidates.
Trump’s broadsides against immigrants and Muslims, as well as his equivocation on support for Israel, have made him unpopular with many Jewish Republicans.
Other Seattle Republicans named on the invitation have also disavowed Trump, according to the Times.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
