Trump claims any Jew who votes Democrat 'hates their religion' after Schumer speech on Senate floor
Trump said he was often 'amazed' at the number of people at pro-Palestinian rallies
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former President Donald Trump claimed in an interview this week that Jews who vote for Democrats hate their own religion.
Trump made the comment while being interviewed by Sebastian Gorka, one of his former aides, on his talk show "America First with Sebastian Gorka."
Gorka asked the former president why he thought Democrats such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enough to call for a change of leadership in the country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SCHUMER CALLS FOR NEW ISRAELI LEADER TO REPLACE NETANYAHU IN SENATE FLOOR SPEECH
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump salutes at a campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP/Jeff Dean)
"I actually think they hate Israel. I think they hate Israel. And the Democrat party hates Israel," Trump told Gorka, subsequently claiming Schumer pivoted against the country for political reasons. "They also see a lot of votes. Don't forget when you see those Palestinian marches — even I'm amazed at how many people are in those marches. And guys like Schumer see that and to him, it's votes. I think it's votes more than anything else. Because he was always pro-Israel. He's very anti-Israel now."
Schumer lambasted the Israeli government's leadership amid the war with Hamas on Thursday last week in a speech calling for Netanyahu to be ousted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7," Schumer said on the Senate floor last week. "The world has changed, radically, since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past."
Sebastian Gorka, right, looks behind him as former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
In the interview, Trump went on to tell Gorka that any Jew who votes for the Democratic Party hates their own religion.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion," Trump said. "They hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed."
Schumer responded to the accusations from the former president on social media.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this image from video provided by Senate TV, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Washington, DC. (Senate TV via AP)
"To make Israel a partisan issue only hurts Israel and the US-Israeli relationship. Trump is making highly partisan and hateful rants," Schumer said in a post on social media platform X. "I am working in a bipartisan way to ensure the US-Israeli relationship sustains for generations to come, buoyed by peace in the Middle East."
The White House also weighed in on Trump's comments — President Biden has previously expressed approval for Schumer's stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict and Netanyahu's leadership.
"There is no justification for spreading toxic, false stereotypes that threaten fellow citizens. None," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement. "Like President Biden said, he was moved to run for President when he saw Neo Nazis chanting ‘the same Antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the 1930s’ in Charlottesville. He will never give hate any safe harbor, including today."