Trump denounces 'dangerous anti-Semitism' in Holocaust Remembrance Day remarks

close

Video

Trump: We will confront anti-Semitism, stand with Israel

President speaks at Holocaust Memorial Museum event

In his strongest remarks to date repudiating anti-Semitism and denouncing Holocaust deniers, President Trump on Tuesday marked Holocaust Remembrance Day by pledging – with survivors of the Nazi-led genocide looking on – that the United States would “always stand with the Jewish people.”

Trump has been criticized in the past by some who’ve claimed his statements condemning anti-Semitic acts came too late or that he too closely aligned himself with certain people and groups who are openly anti-Semitic.

But Tuesday’s comments were unequivocally pro-Jewish, and Trump, speaking from the U.S. Capitol, railed against “dangerous anti-Semitism.”

"Those who deny the Holocaust are an accomplice to this horrible evil and we'll never be silent. We just won't," he said. "We will never, ever be silent in the face of evil again."

Trump spoke at a ceremony hosted by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to mark the unveiling of a new conservation and research center. The center will serve as a repository for a vast collection of artifacts by those who survived Adolf Hitler's massacre of Jews during World War II.

Members of Congress and Holocaust survivors — whose strength and courage Trump said was an inspiration — attended the emotional event in the Rotunda, the center of the Capitol. Survivors lit candles at the end of the ceremony.

Trump said Holocaust denial is one form of "dangerous anti-Semitism that continues all around the world" and that can be seen on university campuses, in attacks on Jewish communities "or when aggressors threaten Israel with total and complete destruction."

"This is my pledge to you: We will confront anti-Semitism," he said. "We will stamp out prejudice, we will condemn hatred, we will bear witness and we will act. As president of the United States, I will always stand with the Jewish people and I will always stand with our great friend and partner, the state of Israel."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.