Trump Accuses Biden of Weak Response to Antisemitism Amid His Own Controversial Remarks

Former President Donald Trump has criticized President Joe Biden for his perceived weak response to antisemitism, using the recent conflicts on college campuses over the Gaza war as a campaign issue. However, Trump’s criticisms overlook his own history of rhetoric that echoes Nazi Germany and plays on Jewish stereotypes.

Over the weekend, Trump accused the White House of being involved in his multiple state and federal criminal prosecutions. He told Republican donors at a private retreat at his Florida resort that Biden is running a “Gestapo administration,” a reference to Nazi Germany’s secret police.

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, described this as a “deliberate tactic” to attack Biden and divert attention from his own track record. She said, “It’s wholly aligned with his long history of offensive and irresponsible comments when it comes to the Jewish community, including the normalization of antisemitism.”

Biden’s campaign labeled it as “despicable” and an attack on law enforcement.

Trump’s attempts to position himself as a moral authority against antisemitism come as Biden navigates the intense divisions caused by the Israel-Hamas war and the resulting unrest from demonstrations. Trump and other Republicans have capitalized on the disruptions on college campuses, which have sometimes turned violent, portraying them as a sign of weakness from Biden and Democrats. This is also the latest instance of Trump’s recurring tactic of repackaging criticism he has received and applying it to his opponents.

As pro-Palestinian demonstrations have erupted at college campuses, there have been reports of antisemitic chants and messages at and around the protests, and some Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe on campus. Trump’s campaign released a video on Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, aiming to contrast the 2024 presidential candidates’ responses to antisemitism.

The video features images of Trump visiting Israel and speeches he has given pledging to stand with Jewish people and confront antisemitism. It also shows footage of the campus protests and clips of Biden responding to protesters upset with his administration’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for Trump’s campaign, criticized Biden for taking “weeks to even talk about the Biden Campus Protests” and not condemning what she described as “pro-Hamas, pro-genocide mobs,” saying “the sad truth is that he needs their votes.”

“Jewish Americans and Jewish leaders around the world recognize that President Trump did more for them and the State of Israel than any President in history,” Leavitt also said Monday.

Trump also spoke about the protests as he arrived in court Monday for his trial in a felony hush money case. Noting that Columbia University has canceled its main commencement ceremony following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests, Trump said “that shouldn’t happen.” He also claimed that many protesters were backed by Biden donors.

Biden has condemned “the antisemitic protests” and last week, he broke days of silence and called for “order” after some schools cleared demonstrators by force, leading to clashes.

James Singer, a spokesperson for Biden’s campaign, said Biden stands against antisemitism but Trump does not.

“Trump has praised neo-Nazis, dined with neo-Nazis, echoed the rhetoric of neo-Nazis, and reportedly praised the accomplishments of Adolf Hitler,” Singer said in a statement. “He cannot lead us, so he seeks to divide us with the oldest of ideas – hate, anger, revenge, and retribution.”

After white nationalists chanting “Jews will not replace us!” rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 and clashed with anti-racism protesters, Trump drew some of his fiercest backlash as president when he said that there “ were very fine people, on both sides. ”

Trump last week downplayed Charlottesville, saying the deadly rally was “nothing” compared to ongoing pro-Palestinian campus protests.

Not long after launching his third White House campaign in 2022, Trump drew widespread condemnation for having dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist and the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, shortly after he made weeks of antisemitic comments.

He’s drawn criticism on his third White House campaign for using language echoing that used by Adolf Hitler to argue that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country,” and labeled his opponents as “vermin.”

Trump has also been accused of promoting antisemitic tropes as he’s suggested that Jewish people who vote for Democrats “ hate Israel” and hate “their religion” are “very disloyal to Israel.” Critics have said the comments evoke the drop of dual loyalty, accusing Jews of being more loyal to their religion than their country.

After Trump’s reference to “Gestapo” over the weekend, Jonathan Sarna, an American Jewish history professor at Brandeis University, said there are “great dangers” in the Nazi comparisons.

“Not only it’s historically incorrect, it’s morally offensive,” Sarna said. “The problem is looking to associate whatever you don’t like with the most evil forces, ignoring all the crucial differences. At that point, we forget what the Holocaust really was.”