“Any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty,” Trump said Tuesday during an Oval Office meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

The president’s comments came in response to a question about two freshmen Democratic representatives — Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar — who he said were plotting a “propaganda tour” of Israel and the West Bank. Trump had encouraged Israel not to let them into the country, a move that was ultimately criticized in Washington by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Trump has called Tlaib and Omar the “face” of the Democratic Party and has seized on their criticism of Israel to attract Jewish voters.

“Five years ago, the concept of even talking about this, even three years ago, of cutting off aid to Israel because of two people that hate Israel and hate Jewish people. I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation,” Trump said, referring to Tlaib and Omar’s suggestion that U.S. aid to Israel should be slashed. “Where has the Democratic Party gone? Where have they gone where they’re defending these two people over the state of Israel?”

Democratic Voters
American Jews have historically voted overwhelmingly for Democrats. In the 2018 midterm elections, 79% of Jews backed Democratic candidates, according to Pew Research Center.

Trump has made several controversial pro-Israel policy moves, such as moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and urging the country to block Tlaib and Omar from entering. He’s cultivated ties to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including inviting him for a White House visit shortly before he stood for re-election.

Many of those moves, however, have been criticized by Jewish groups across the political spectrum. The Union for Reform Judaism, which represents the largest denomination in North America, denounced Trump’s call for Tlaib and Omar to be blocked, as did the pro-Israel lobby group American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the progressive Jewish group J Street.

J Street on Tuesday called the president’s latest remarks “disgusting.” The nonprofit Republican Jewish Coalition, however, stood by Trump’s comments.

J Street
@jstreetdotorg
Disgusting. The President of the United States just said that over 75% of American Jews are either disloyal or unintelligent.

Jordan Fabian
@Jordanfabian
Trump on Omar/Tlaib: “Any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”

Trump on Omar/Tlaib: "Any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty."

— Jordan Fabian (@Jordanfabian) August 20, 2019

Sent via Twitter Web App.

View original tweet.

“President Trump is right, it shows a great deal of disloyalty to oneself to defend a party that protects/emboldens people that hate you for your religion,” the group wrote, adding that the Republican Party “always acts swiftly and decisively” to punish anti-Semitism among its own ranks.

Matt Boxer, a professor at Brandeis University who has studied Jewish voting patterns, said that Jewish Americans have historically supported the Democratic Party by large numbers because they see it as more open to immigrants and minorities.

“It’s not the first time he’s said something like that,” he said. “Quite frankly, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

He added that Trump is unlikely to change that decades-old pattern, especially with language that seemed to suggest that American Jews should have a dual loyalty to Israel simply because of their religion.