Republican candidate Donald Trump said Thursday that Jewish people would be to blame if he loses the US election in November.
• Also read: Trump assassination attempt: Secret Service director acknowledges ‘failures’
• Also read: Trump-backed candidate caught up in controversial porn site posts
“I’m not going to call it a prediction, but in my opinion, the Jewish people would have a lot to do with this loss if I’m at 40% [dans le résultat final]” he said at an event in Washington on combating anti-Semitism.
Such a result would mean that “60% of them” would vote for Kamala Harris, who is a “bad Democrat,” he added.
AFP
He said the presidential election was “the most important” in Israel’s history and that if his rival won, the Jewish state would “cease to exist” and be “eradicated,” CNN reported.
“Unfortunately, and I have to say this, and it pains me to say this, you’re going to continue to vote for Democrats, and that doesn’t make sense,” the former president said. “I keep saying that any Jewish person who votes for them, especially today, should have their head examined,” he continued.
Kamala Harris has never claimed support from any of the groups mentioned by Mr. Trump, CNN said.
The Democratic candidate’s husband, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, criticized the former president in a post on X.
“Donald Trump has once again fanned the flames of anti-Semitism by resorting to tropes that blame and scapegoat Jews. […] “This attitude is dangerous and must be condemned,” he wrote.
The pro-Palestinian movement Uncommitted has also said he will not support Ms Harris after her campaign ignored their demands for an immediate ceasefire.
Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and a former aide to Democratic officials in New York, accused Mr. Trump of using “a speech about anti-Semitism as an opportunity to enlist anti-Semitic troops and attack the American Jewish community,” according to CNN.
