Sen. Bernard Sanders on Tuesday pushed back on President Trump’s statement that Jewish people who vote for Democrats are either misinformed or disloyal.
“Let me say this to the president: I am a proud Jewish person, and I have no concerns about voting Democratic,” Mr. Sanders of Vermont said at a campaign event in Sioux City, Iowa. “And in fact, I intend to vote for a Jewish man to become the next president of the United States.”
Mr. Trump had made the comments in the Oval Office earlier in the day when he was talking about Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, who were prevented from entering Israel last week.
“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,” the president said. “I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
The president’s remarks drew swift rebukes from others as well.
“If this is about Israel, then Trump is repeating a dual loyalty claim, which is a form of anti-Semitism,” said Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America. “If this is about Jews being ’loyal’ to him, then Trump needs a reality check. We live in a democracy, and Jewish support for the Republican Party has been halved in the past four years.”
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump says Jewish voters who back Democrats are showing ‘disloyalty’
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.