Jewish Democrats of Florida Condemn Trump's Use of Anti-Semitic Loyalty Trope

Elected Jewish Democrats of Florida slammed Trump’s outrageous claims that Jews voting Democrat are somehow “disloyal,” calling it out for being the ugly trope that it is.

On August 20, Donald Trump attacked American Jews claiming “I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat –– it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” Trump doubled down on his comments on August 21, telling reporters “If you vote for a Democrat, you’re being disloyal to Jewish people and you’re being very disloyal to Israel.”

Jewish Democratic Party elected officials condemned his smear and reprimanded Trump for using questions of loyalty, something that is an old and ugly attack on Jews, and for continuing to try to use Israel––one of America’s closest allies––as a partisan wedge issue.

Congressman Ted Deutch condemned Trump’s statement as “outrageous” on the August 20 edition of CNN’s The Situation Room and added:

“The charge that somehow you are being disloyal to their government, that they’re not really good Jews. Brianna, I had a meeting with a group of veterans just yesterday, and many of them are Jews, and many of them voted for me. The fact is, that just like my father who served our country, just like these brave veterans that I was with yesterday, when they vote for Democrats because that’s who they believe in, that’s what they want, that’s how they choose to exercise their right to vote, that’s what they do. And the president calls them out and suggests they’re disloyal Americans? How dare he!”

Commissioner Nikki Fried didn’t mince words on Twitter stating “For f**ks sake, who does @realDonaldTrump think he is?!? Nobody owns the Jewish vote, especially him.” She added on Twitter that “If he really cared, he wouldn’t make the State of Israel a partisan wedge.”

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz stated on Twitter “This must stop”:

“President Trump is talking and acting like a white nationalist, and politicizing Israel. Both are dangerous and destructive. Trump cannot plead ignorance at how ‘loyalty’ has been used to attack Jews over the centuries. This must stop.”

State Senator Lori Berman released the following statement:

“The President’s inflammatory statement is disturbing and should be alarming to all that have heard it. The fact that the President would try to use Israel, a U.S. ally, as an issue to pit political parties against each other is dangerous and unconscionable. We all must condemn the dual loyalty anti-Semitic trope, as well as his misinformed statements, and work to bring Americans together, not drive us apart.”

Trump’s statement comes barely over a month after Senator Rick Scott claimed that Democrats are “the anti-Semitic party.”