Trump blamed Democrats and Jewish People for being Disloyal to Israel

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The U.S President Donald Trump has clarified that his earlier comment about Jewish people who vote Democrat are showing great disloyalty by saying they are being disloyal to Israel. He doubled down on the long-established antisemitic trope of Jewish people in a press conference at the White House, having split loyalties between the country of which they are citizens and the state of Israel. Trump also retweeted a right-wing radio host who called him the King of Israel and like the second coming of God. It’s the latest in a series of antisemitic statements the U.S President has continued following a highly publicized battle with congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.

Trump said before leaving for a trip to Kentucky, he said, “You’re being very disloyal to Jewish people and you’re being very disloyal to Israel, and only weak people would agree with that”. He added, “If you vote for a Democrat, you’re being disloyal to Israel and the Jewish people. No president has ever done anywhere close to what I’ve done”. Trump was referring to his decision to move the U.S embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and to recognize Israeli ownership of the disputed Golan Heights. He said that his comments stemmed from the congresswomen’s planned trip, targeting representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It is noteworthy that the grandmother of Rashida Tlaib lives in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian and wasn’t involved in the trip. He said, “She had a plan to greatly embarrass Israel by going to see her grandmother”.

Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar were barred last week from visiting Israel for an official trip over their support for the BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) movement after urging from Trump. The U.S President has been targeting the minority congresswomen since they were elected. Israel later agreed to a humanitarian visit for Tlaib to visit her grandmother. She refused and said her grandmother had ultimately urged her not to come under what they considered to be humiliating circumstances. Trump said, “She had a plan to greatly embarrass Israel by going to see her grandmother”. He added that she was lying about going to see her in the first place.