‘You’re a fool’: Trump ramps up attacks on Jewish Democrats

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his attacks on Jewish Democrats, calling them “fool[s]” while attempting to undermine prominent Jews in the party.

“Any Jewish person that voted for [Vice President Kamala Harris] or [President Joe Biden] … should have their head examined,” Trump told conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg in a live interview. “If you love Israel — or if you’re Jewish, because a lot of Jewish people do not like Israel … If you’re Jewish, if you vote for a Democrat, you’re a fool, an absolute fool.”

It’s a familiar move for Trump, who is attempting to use growing skepticism of U.S. aid to Israel among the public and some Democratic lawmakers — amid a war that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry — as a wedge to win over Jewish voters, who have historically leaned heavily Democratic . In March, Trump said “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion .”

His language has only intensified since Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket last week.

“She’s totally against the Jewish people,” Trump said last week at a rally in North Carolina. He doubled down on Tuesday, telling Rosenberg: “She dislikes Jewish people and Israel more than Biden did.”

Those attacks are complicated by the fact that Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, would be the first Jewish spouse of a president if Harris wins in November.

Rosenberg attacked Emhoff during the interview, calling him “a crappy Jew, a horrible Jew.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Trump replied.

In a statement to POLITICO in response, Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer said, “America is better than the fear, hate, and despicable insults of Donald Trump.”

During the interview, Trump criticized what he characterized as “a hell of a change” in the way Washington treats Israel — focusing specifically on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer .

“Fifteen years ago, you couldn't say a bad thing [about Israel], you'd be out of office. And today it's almost like — I mean, Schumer has become a Palestinian. Chuck Schumer is officially now a Palestinian," Trump said.

A spokesperson for Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotted the event , which drew thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters , some of whom set fires and vandalized property outside Union Station, which is down the street from the Capitol.

Schumer, who has publicly criticized Netanyahu for failing to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, attended the speech but did not shake the prime minister’s hand. Schumer told CBS on Sunday he believes “the relationship between Israel and America is ironclad,” but he has “serious disagreements with the way Benjamin Netanyahu has conducted” the war.

Harris did not attend Netanyahu’s address, but met privately with him afterward. During the meeting, she said, she expressed her “serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians.”

“We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent,” Harris said in a speech following the meeting.

Trump also met with Netanyahu during his visit to the U.S. Sitting across from the prime minister at Mar-a-Lago, Trump told reporters Harris’ remarks “weren’t very nice.”

“I actually don’t know how a person who’s Jewish can vote for her,” he added during the Friday meeting, “but that’s up to them.”