Donald Trump has sparked controversy once more with his remarks about the Jewish community, suggesting they would be responsible if he loses the election to Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate.
The Republican presidential candidate also reiterated an assertion that if he loses the election, Israel will cease to exist within two years under Harris.
During a speech on Thursday evening at the Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit in Washington, Trump referenced to his lack of Jewish support, according to recent polls.
The former President said: “If I don’t win this election – and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens because if 40 per cent, I mean, 60 per cent of the people are voting for the enemy – Israel, in my opinion, will cease to exist within two years.”
Trump had been citing a poll that he said showed Harris polling at 60 per cent among American Jews.
In a statement before the speech, Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, accused Trump of sometimes associating with antisemites.
Trump has denied all accusations of antisemitism, noting during his Thursday speeches that he has a Jewish son-in-law – Jared Kushner.
Earlier that evening, the former president had said during another speech at an event called Fighting Antisemitism: “If I don’t win this election… the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss.
“I will put it to you very simply and gently: I really haven’t been treated right, but you haven’t been treated right, because you’re putting yourself in great danger.”
Trump also asserted that Iran would swiftly acquire a nuclear weapon and that “terrorist death squads will conduct constant raids into Israeli territory from all sides, going door to door and torturing, raping, kidnapping, and massacring innocent civilians… Tel Aviv and Jerusalem will become unlivable war zones, as suicide attacks grind life to a halt.
“I told [IAC funder] Miriam [Adelson] today, ‘They have to hear some tough love because we need to tell them the fact that Israel will not exist within two years if [Harris] becomes president,’” Trump declared.
Jews make up just two per cent of the US population and have historically voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party.
