Democratic donor Tom Steyer calls GOP House majority leader's tweet about him anti-Semitic

(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

published 29 October 2018

Billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer on Sunday condemned a now-deleted tweet by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), which he believes was probably anti-Semitic.

On Tuesday, McCarthy posted a tweet targeting Steyer and two other wealthy Jewish donors to liberal causes: George Soros and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "We cannot allow Soros, Steyer, and Bloomberg to BUY this election!" McCarthy tweeted. "Get out and vote Republican November 6th. #MAGA." McCarthy deleted the tweet on Wednesday.

Last week, explosive devices were mailed to both Soros and Steyer, and on Saturday, 11 people were killed by a gunman inside their Pittsburgh synagogue. Steyer told CNN that McCarthy's tweet "seems, to me, like a straight-up anti-Semitic move." It was a "classic attempt to separate Americans," he added. "I think that absolutely falls into the category of what I'm describing as political violence." McCarthy's office said he is against violence, and the tweet "simply points out the enormous financial contributions a select few have made in this year's midterm campaigns."

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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.

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