Former President Donald Trump has accused Vice President Kamala Harris of antisemitism.
In a speech on Friday at The Believers’ Summit which was hosted in Palm Beach, Florida, by Turning Point Action, the campaigning arm of conservative group Turning Point USA, Trump said Harris “doesn’t like Jewish people.”
“Two days ago she refused to attend the speech in Congress of the prime minister of Israel. She said ‘Oh I can’t make it.’ It was just a small group of people but they couldn’t make it because that’s her original thought. That’s where she comes from.
“She doesn’t like Jewish people. She doesn’t like Israel. That’s the way it is, and that’s the way it’s always going to be. She’s not going to change,” Trump said.
Newsweek has contacted the Harris and Trump campaigns via email for comment.
Harris is married to Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish. The vice president skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. Harris was traveling in Indiana during the speech.
She later met with Netanyahu privately, telling reporters after that she will “not be silent” over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Israel is currently at the nine-month mark of its war against Hamas, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking approximately 250 people hostages, per the Israeli government. About 120 remain held, about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes in Gaza. More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, the AP said.
In another speech on Wednesday in North Carolina, he claimed that Harris “is totally against the Jewish people.”
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump wrote: “P.M. Netanyahu of Israel had a terrible and ‘insulting’ meeting in D.C. with Kamala Harris, who also refused to preside over Congress during his speech, which is an obligation of the V.P. Rarely has such a thing happened. Her ineptness will greatly prolong the war and delay the hostage release.”
The sitting vice president is expected to preside over the Senate if a foreign leader visits, but the president pro tempore of the Senate can chair the proceedings instead if the vice president is not present. The current president pro tempore, Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, also did not attend the address, so Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Ben Cardin, also a Democrat, presided over proceedings.
Trump added: “Any Jewish person that votes for Kamala, or a Democrat, should immediately have their head examined. Likewise Catholics, who are being persecuted by this Administration, should not be voting for Radical Left Kamala. VOTE TRUMP 2024. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S. came as he sought to strengthen Israel’s relationship with the U.S. amid increasing pressure to strike a ceasefire deal that would bring an end to fighting in Gaza.
Some Democrats have been critical of President Joe Biden‘s steadfast support for Israel despite the increasing death toll among Palestinians.
Following her meeting with Netanyahu, Harris seemed to make a more explicit appeal to voters who had potentially been frustrated by Biden’s stance.
“To everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire, and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you, and I hear you,” she said.
She steered clear of talking about military assistance for Israel, which some Democrats have wanted to curtail.
“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies,” she added. “We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”
Netanyahu said on Monday that regardless of who is elected president in November, Israel would remain “America’s indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East.”
His visit attracted protests in Washington, D.C., with protesters ripping down American flags and spray painting “Hamas is coming.”
Harris described their actions as “despicable acts by unpatriotic protesters and dangerous hate-fueled rhetoric.”
“I support the right to peacefully protest, but let’s be clear: Antisemitism, hate and violence of any kind have no place in our nation,” she said in a statement.
During Netanyahu’s visit, he also met separately with Biden and Trump.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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