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Donald Trump said Jewish voters will be partly to blame if he loses the 2024 presidential election, as he complained about their lack of support for him.
The Republican presidential nominee was speaking at two events in Washington, DC, on Thursday night — one at a summit about tackling antisemitism and another at the Israeli-American Council — where he repeatedly claimed he is backed by 40 per cent of American Jewish voters.
“If I don’t win this election, and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens, because at 40 per cent, that means 60 per cent of the people are voting for the enemy,” he told the audience of prominent Jewish Republicans.
According to the latest research, Jewish voters favour Kamala Harris for president over Trump by 65 per cent to 34 per cent, Pew Research Center’s survey found.
Lamenting how Jewish Americans favour Harris, the former president claimed Democrats have “a curse” on Jewish voters. “That means you’ve got 60 per cent voted for somebody that hates Israel. And I say it — it’s going to happen — it’s only because of the Democrat hold or curse on you,” he said. “You can’t let this happen. Forty per cent is not acceptable, because we have an election to win.”
He added: “I will put it to you very simply and gently: I really haven’t been treated right, but you haven’t been treated right, because you’re putting yourself in great danger.”
Trump also claimed he had “been the best president for Israel by far” and that Israel faces “total annihilation” if Harris is elected in November. “Rockets will rain down from above until the Iron Dome has been exhausted,” he said.
Trump made similar attacks on Harris and Joe Biden at both events, criticizing how the administration has handled Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and for the breakout of pro-Palestinian protests across college campuses.
“Kamala Harris has done absolutely nothing. She has not lifted a single finger to protect you or to protect your children,” Trump said. “I’m the one that’s protecting you. These are the people who are going destroy you and you have 60 per cent of Jewish people essentially voting for that.”
Trump also accused Harris, whose husband Doug Emhoff is Jewish, of being “anti-Israel” and “anti-Jewish”.
He concluded his speech by saying: “I believe that Israel will be wiped off the face of the Earth if I don’t win.”
During the Trump administration, the US recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital; formally recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights and pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.
The Trump administration also helped usher in the Abraham Accords, through which the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the first Gulf states to formally normalize relations with Israel.
