Trump reportedly told RNC donors at Mar-a-Lago 'the Democrats hate Jewish people,' denied 'Tim Apple' slip

President Trump spoke at a Republican National Committee meeting at his Mar-a-Lago club on Friday night, and there is no video or audio because security guards made the GOP donors attending the event wear their cellphones in magnetized bags inside the club, Axios reported Sunday. But Trump still made some comments memorable enough to survive the phone ban, three attendees tell Axios' Jonathan Swan.

Fox example, Trump reportedly denied calling Tim Cook "Tim Apple," claiming that video of his comments did not capture the really fast "Cook" he slipped in between "Tim" and "Apple." ("I just thought, why would you lie about that," one of the donors told Swan. "It doesn't even matter!") He came up with new nicknames for 2020 Democratic challengers. And Trump said that "the Democrats hate Jewish people," according to Axios' sources. Swan paraphrases:

Trump's broadside was prompted by arguably anti-Semitic comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and the resolution by House Democrats to condemn anti-Semitism and other hate but not Omar.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Trump's hands aren't exactly spotless when it comes to perceived anti-Semitism, Matt Taylor notes at Vice. The fight over Omar's comments "has broken down along complicated lines," he argues, "but what we shouldn't lose sight of in this thorny debate — about Israel and its government, about Palestine, about anti-Jewish hate, and about lobbying in Washington — is that Donald Trump does not give a sh-t about anti-Semitism," and for him "to suggest the opposition — the party that includes almost every Jewish member of Congress — is 'anti-Jewish' is a new low. Yes, even for him."