Trump criticized for 'insulting and disgusting' Truth Social post about American Jews

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published 17 October 2022

On his Truth Social platform, former President Donald Trump on Sunday applauded himself and evangelical Christians for supporting Israel and stated that American Jews need to "get their act together" and "appreciate" Israel "before it is too late."

In his post, Trump claimed that "no president has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S. Those living in Israel, though, are a different story — highest approval rating in the world, could easily be P.M.!"

It's unclear what prompted Trump to make these remarks. They were similar to comments he made in 2021, when he told an Israeli journalist that "the Jewish people in the United States either don't like Israel or don't care about Israel. ... I'll tell you, the evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country." The American Jewish Congress spoke out against Trump's remarks, saying he was repeating "radioactive antisemitic tropes" about Jewish people having dual loyalties to the U.S. and Israel.

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In response to Trump's Truth Social post, Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted on Sunday: "We don't need the former president, who curries favor with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the U.S.-Israel relationship. It is not about a quid pro quo; it rests on shared values and security interests. This 'Jewsplaining' is insulting and disgusting."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.