Trump claims Harris, who is married to a Jew, 'doesn't like Jews'

Photo: Erin Schaff The New York Times via Associated Press U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (left) and her husband, Doug Emhoff, in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 22

Michelle L. Price – Associated Press in New York

Posted at 6:30 p.m.

• United States

Donald Trump said Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris, who is married to a Jew, “doesn't like Jews.”

In an interview with radio station WABC on Tuesday, the former US president also seemed to agree with the host who called Ms. Harris's husband, Doug Emhoff, a “phony Jew” (“crappy Jew” in English).

Mr. Trump said Harris seemed uncomfortable during her meeting last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

The Republican nominee for the November presidential election is trying to take advantage of divisions within the Democratic Party on the delicate issue of the war between Israel and Hamas.

He seeks to paint his political opponents as anti-Semites, while ignoring some of his own past comments and behavior, such as dining at his Florida club with a Holocaust denier and white supremacist.

Since Harris replaced President Joe Biden in the presidential race, Trump has stepped up his attacks on her.

“You can see her contempt,” he said Tuesday of Harris’s meeting with Netanyahu. “First: She doesn’t like Israel. Second: She doesn’t like Jews. You know it, I know it and everybody knows it and nobody wants to say it,” he told WABC radio.

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“America is better than the fear, hatred and despicable insults of Donald Trump,” said James Singer, a spokesman for the Harris campaign. “Vice President Harris believes that Americans want a president who unites our country instead of dividing it, who uses the power of the presidency to help families instead of hurting them, and who has a vision for our future instead of setting us back.”

The former Republican president repeated in an interview recent comments about Jewish voters who support Democrats “who should have their heads examined.”

“If you’re Jewish and you vote for a Democrat, you’re sick, you’re an absolute moron. They’ve failed the Jewish people since Obama to a level no one could have imagined.”

Mr. Trump again said of Ms. Harris: “She hates the Jewish people and Israel, even more than Biden.”

Mrs. Harris’s Husband

The host, Sid Rosenberg, then mentioned Mrs. Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, saying, “He’s Jewish like Bernie Sanders is Jewish. You’re kidding me, I hope?.”

“Yeah,” Mr. Trump said.

“He’s a fake Jew,” Mr. Rosenberg continued.

“Yeah,” the Republican candidate repeated.

Mr. Rosenberg went on to say of Mr. Emhoff, “He’s a horrible Jew.”

Both men went on to criticize Ms. Harris on other issues.

Mr. Trump made a similar claim last Friday that Ms. Harris did not like Jews while speaking to a Christian group in Florida. He has also sparked backlash in the past by making similar remarks about Jewish people, such as when he said in March that Jews who vote for Democrats “hate Israel” and hate “their religion.”

Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish person to be the husband of a nationally elected female U.S. leader, has been one of the most visible members of the Biden administration speaking out about combating anti-Semitism. He hung mezuzahs on the doorposts of the vice president's residence and led Passover celebrations at the White House.

Mr. Emhoff's office declined to comment Tuesday on Trump's remarks.

Mr Trump’s campaign also criticised Mr Emhoff’s adult daughter Ella for posting a fundraising link for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East on her social media account.

Israel has tried to ban the UN body, suggesting it supports terrorists. European leaders have said the accusation is baseless.