One of the keys to Donald Trump’s mass appeal is his tendency to speak off the cuff or say things that he knows will send the opposition into low-earth orbit. But Trump’s pugilistic nature, while endearing to some, provides regular fodder for his MSM critics and those who have somehow decided that they can get their news from those sources.
Yesterday, the independent media was abuzz with the MSM simultaneously stepping on a rake, hitting itself in the face with a pie, and spraying seltzer down its own pants by teeing off on Trump’s “bloodbath” comment. Then again, the left will interpret anything Trump says other than “Gesundheit” as incendiary. Although, it is conceivable that the MSM could construe “Gesundheit” as a dog whistle to Christian nationalists. Meh. Give it a few months.
In this case, the source of the Left’s ire was Trump’s interview with Sebastian Gorka on the Salem News Network:
Part 3 of Donald Trump’s Interview on #AMERICAFirst
Why Do Democrats Hate Israel? pic.twitter.com/IL80KVfh7m
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) March 18, 2024
The line the Left seized upon was, “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed.”
“Morning Joe” featured a panel to dissect Trump’s remark.
The White House was also quick to weigh in on the comment. According to the Washington Examiner, it received a statement from spokesman Andrew Bates:
President Biden has put his foot down when it comes to vile and unhinged Antisemitic rhetoric. As Antisemitic crimes and acts of hate have increased across the world — among them the deadliest attack committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust — leaders have an obligation to call hate what it is and bring Americans together against it.
There is no justification for spreading toxic, false stereotypes that threaten fellow citizens. None. Like President Biden said, he was moved to run for President when he saw Neo Nazis chanting ‘the same Antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the 1930s’ in Charlottesville. He will never give hate any safe harbor, including today.
The Examiner article also featured this tweet from Chuck Schumer:
To make Israel a partisan issue only hurts Israel and the US-Israeli relationship.
Trump is making highly partisan and hateful rants.
I am working in a bipartisan way to ensure the US-Israeli relationship sustains for generations to come, buoyed by peace in the Middle East. https://t.co/uCMvZWZ8rF
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 18, 2024
The outlet quoted Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who called Trump’s remarks “outrageous slander against the vast majority of American Jews,” adding, “How dare Donald Trump lecture Chuck Schumer about being Jewish?”
While the Left’s feathers unruffle, it is helpful to remember that Schumer and Biden have been critical of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, especially since there have been not-so-veiled threats about voting. In this case, Schumer has called for Netanyahu to step down. As Rich Lowry noted in National Review:
The uncommitted voters of Michigan say, “Jump,” and Chuck Schumer asks, “How high?”
The Senate majority leader gave an extraordinary speech flaying the democratically elected leader of an ally engaged in fighting a defensive war against a hideous terrorist enemy.
The speech calling on Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to go, along with increasingly critical statements by the White House, shows that the Democrats have decided that appeasing their left-wing base in an election year is now their top consideration.
Trump is no antisemite. He can be a blowhard who sometimes takes a ready-fire-aim approach when it comes to his comments, which energizes his base and his detractors alike. By contrast, the antisemites are blocking traffic, tearing down posters, and attacking people on college campuses.