If re-elected, Trump pledges to eradicate individuals harboring anti-Semitic sentiments, as stated during an event honoring the October 7 incidents.
I'll safeguard our American Jewish populace. I'll shield your neighborhoods, schools, houses of worship, and values. We'll eliminate individuals sympathetic to jihadist ideologies and antisemites. We're going to oust antisemites who contribute nothing to our nation, they only aim to ruin our nation.
During the event at his golf course in Doral, Florida, the former president didn't specify precisely who he deemed as "antisemites." The remarks were made as Trump marked the anniversary of the terror attacks, stating October 7 was the "deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust."
The former president accused "antisemitism" of being "entrenched within the Democratic Party." Trump has repeatedly suggested that Jewish Democrats should "seek professional help," playing into an "antisemitic trope that Jewish Americans have dual loyalties to Israel and the US."
"Antisemitism has resurfaced even in America, in our streets, media, and college campuses, and within the ranks of the Democratic Party, in particular, not the Republican Party. I can guarantee you that it’s not prevalent in the Republican Party," the former president added.
One of the promises in the preamble to the GOP platform adopted at the Republican National Convention in July was to " deport pro-Hamas extremists and restore safety and patriotism on our college campuses."
Amid protests on college campuses nationwide earlier this year, the former president frequently criticized the protesters and the Biden administration’s response. In April, he claimed, without evidence, that a majority of them were "paid" and "professional" agitators.
At the October 7 commemoration event, Trump said, "The relationship between the United States and Israel is powerful and enduring ... if and when I'm president of the United States again, it will, once more, be stronger and closer than ever before. We must win this election. If we don't, there will be severe consequences for everything."
The former president stated at an event last month that he had not been "treated fairly by voters who identify as Jewish" during the 2020 election and said that Jewish voters would share some responsibility if he is defeated this year, while promoting his pro-Israel record.
Trump has consistently tapped into antisemitic tropes, launching attacks at Jewish Americans he believes do not support him enough. During his first campaign for president, he delivered a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition filled with antisemitic stereotypes, and shortly after leaving office in 2021, he told reporters that Jewish Americans have deserted Israel. In an interview in March, Trump claimed that any Jewish person who votes for Democrats "hates their religion" and "dismantles everything about Israel."
In light of the former president's accusations, politics in the Democratic Party have come under scrutiny for allegedly harboring antisemitic sentiments. The Republicans, on the other hand, pledged to address antisemitism, promising to deport pro-Hamas extremists and enhance safety on college campuses.
