Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, slammed former President Trump’s recent remarks against Democratic Jewish voters during a campaign event in Nebraska, saying they should “condemn” him for his “disgusting, toxic, and antisemitic” remarks.
“This is a disgusting, toxic antisemitic thing to say by anyone, let alone a former President of the United States, and it must be condemned,” Emhoff stated, according to Bloomberg.
Emhoff was responding to Trump’s recent interview with right-wing radio host Sebastian Gorka, in which he said Democrats “hate Israel” and Jewish voters who support Democrats despise their faith.
Gorka questioned Trump about why senior Democrats “hate” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as tensions between President Biden and Israel’s top leader escalate over the Gaza conflict.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Emhoff said that the former president “uses stereotypes to demean Jewish Americans.”
“He described Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville as’very fine people.'” “And his former Chief of Staff claimed he even praised Adolf Hitler,” Emhoff wrote. “This vile, antisemitic discourse is destructive. Donald Trump should be ashamed.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) chastised Netanyahu for losing “his way” in the ongoing political and legal disputes, as well as his management of Israel’s war against Hamas.
Emhoff, a prominent Jewish member of the Biden administration, has been a spokesperson for the White House on the rise of antisemitism since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. In January, he spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, emphasizing the Biden-Harris administration’s “commitment to countering the global rise of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and hate of all kinds.”
Trump’s remarks and Emhoff’s response occurred just after he received the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, setting up a rematch with Biden, the Democratic Party’s nominee.
Since the beginning of the war, Trump has consistently expressed his strong support for Israel’s mandate to protect itself. Biden, on the other hand, has grown increasingly vociferous about how Israel should conduct its counteroffensive.
Biden spoke with Netanyahu on Monday, emphasizing that the US continues to support Israel’s defeat of Hamas but believes the country must do so with a “coherent and sustainable” approach. The call is the first time the leaders have spoken since Biden claimed Netanyahu was harming Israel.
