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By Kaitlin Lewis
Night Reporter
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Former President Donald Trump is facing backlash after saying that if he loses to Vice President Kamala Harris in November, "the Jewish people would have a lot to do" with it.
The comments were made during the former president's opening night address for the annual Israeli American Council (IAC) summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Trump has previously bashed U.S. Jewish voters for backing Harris in preliminary polling, including saying last month that any Jewish voter who backs the Democratic ticket should have their "head examined."
Trump said on Thursday that he was backed by only 24 percent of Jewish voters in 2016 and 29 percent of the bloc in 2020, despite "all I have done for Israel."
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"I'll put it to you very simply and as gently as I can, I wasn't treated properly by the voters who happen to be Jewish," Trump added later in his speech. "I don't know. Do they know what the hell is happening?"
He went on to say, "If I don't win this election, and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens," adding that recent surveys show a majority of Jewish voters (65 percent) back Harris this election cycle.
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Trump's statements were ripped online by prominent Jewish figures like Andrew Weinstein, an attorney who serves as a public delegate of the United States to the United Nations.
"This is vile and dangerous and should be condemned by all Americans," Weinstein wrote to X, formerly Twitter. "Antisemitic rhetoric like this makes Jews less safe."
Former federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah, whose father is a Holocaust survivor, also posted to X that Trump's comment "is incredibly dangerous antisemitism pure and simple."
"It's an old trick that has worked—laying the groundwork for a scapegoat," she added. "Regardless of your politics, please see this for what it is and denounce it."
"Trump's antisemitism speech is, for the umpteenth time, advancing this antisemitic trope," wrote Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. "Stop dividing Jews into 'good' and 'bad' camps. Stop labeling those who don't support you as crazy or disloyal. Stop playing into dual loyalty tropes. All of it makes Jews less safe."
According to a Pew Research poll released on September 9, 65 percent of Jewish voters said they back Harris this election, while 34 percent support Trump. In 2020, a report from Pew found that 70 percent of Jewish Americans voted for President Joe Biden, while 27 percent voted for Trump.
Another poll by the Jewish Democratic Council of America conducted from August 27 to September 1 found Harris with a similar lead to Biden's 2020 results. Out of 800 registered Jewish voters, in a head-to-head matchup, 72 percent said they backed the vice president, while 25 percent chose Trump.
Trump has accused Harris of hating Israel and repeated during his speech on Thursday that he believes Israel "will cease to exist within two years" if he loses in November. The vice president has faced pressure from some progressive members of her party over the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza. Harris has said that she supports reaching a ceasefire deal and two-state solution while also supporting Israel's right to defend itself.
Under his administration, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. He repeatedly touts his support for the Jewish state but has been criticized for surrounding himself with well-known far-right antisemites, such as Nick Fuentes.
"If I do win, Israel will be safe and secured," Trump told the IAC summit on Thursday.
In an email to Newsweek on Friday afternoon, Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted the former president's work for Israel while in office, such as the signing of the Abraham Accords and "recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights."
"President Trump did more for Israel than any American President in history," Leavitt's statement read in part.
"All of the progress made by President Trump in the region has been unraveled by Kamala Harris' weakness and America Last policies," she added. "When President Trump is back in the Oval Office, Israel will once again be protected, Iran will go back to being broke, terrorists will be hunted down, and the bloodshed will end."
Follow Newsweek's live blog for election updates.
Update 09/20/24, 4:44 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Trump's campaign.
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