Former US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he “could easily be” Israel’s prime minister as he wished that American Jews were more “appreciative” of what he has done for ‘Israel’.
In a Sunday post on his Truth Social account, Trump wrote, “No President has done more for Israel than I have.” “Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the US.”
“Those living in Israel, though, are a different story – Highest approval rating in the World, could easily be P.M.!”
“U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel – Before it is too late!”
In response to Trump’s remarks, the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt said Sunday in a statement, “We don’t need the former president, who curries favor with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
“It is not about a quid pro quo; it rests on shared values and security interests. This “Jewsplaining” is insulting and disgusting.”
The American Jewish Committee said, “Support for the Jewish state never gives one license to lecture American Jews, nor does it ever give the right to draw baseless judgments about the ties between U.S. Jews and Israel,” per a tweet.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that “Donald Trump’s comments were anti-semitic … and insulting, both to Jews and to our Israeli allies.”
It is not clear what prompted Trump’s remarks, but they echo similar comments that the former president has made about the U.S. Jewish community since he was elected in 2016.
In 2021, Trump accused the U.S. Jews who are not orthodox of “no longer loving Israel” and claimed “evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country.”
Trump added at the time that the fact that around 75% of Jewish voters were planning to support Joe Biden in 2020 was evidence that they either “don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel.”
Trump also claimed that ‘Israel’ once had “absolute power” over Congress but today it’s “the exact opposite,” referring to former President Obama and President Biden.
