J.D. Vance: Trump Isn’t Antisemitic. CNN Host: He Had Dinner With Nick Fuentes
Sen. J.D. Vance defended former president Donald Trump‘s claim that “If any Jewish person voted for Joe Biden, they should be ashamed of themselves.”
“What [President Joe] Biden is doing with respect to Israel is disgraceful,” Trump said outside a Manhattan courtroom this past week where he is on trial for paying Stormy Daniels for her silence ahead of the election. “If any Jewish person voted for Joe Biden, they should be ashamed of themselves. He’s totally abandoned Israel.”
Vance quote tweeted the video, writing, “Trump right again. Biden’s policy in Israel is equal parts incoherent and immoral.”
On Sunday’s State of the Union, when CNN host Dana Bash confronted Vance about his defense of Trump’s remarks — asking “You think that Jewish people who voted for Joe Biden should be ashamed of themselves?” — the Ohio Republican defended Trump.
“What I think, Dana, is that people should look at the record here and recognize that Donald Trump has actually been really good for the state of Israel,” he said. “We had peace and prosperity in our country, and we had a very stalwart ally of the Israelis.”
Vance added, “Do I think it’s reasonable to look at this situation and say that, if you’re a Jewish American who cares about the state of Israel, who cares about these antisemitic riots, and say you should be on the side of Republicans in 2024 because they govern effectively on some of the issues that you care about, I think it’s a totally reasonable argument to make.”
Bash countered, pointing out that to equate Judaism with supporting Israel is an antisemitic trope itself. “Historically, the notion of saying to Jews, you should put Israel first and what happens in Israel first, and not sort of consider them American citizens first, has been used as an antisemitic trope,” she said.
Vance responded that Trump “hasn’t singled out Jewish Americans. He singled out a lot of people for voting for Joe Biden, and suggesting they have got to wake up and elect him as president in 2024. So I don’t think there’s any effort to single out Jewish Americans.”
Except Trump literally singled out Jews when he said they should be “ashamed” if they support Biden.
“But he made similar comments about a lot of different groups of people, Dana,” Vance said when Bash pointed out Trump’s singling out Jewish voters. “I don’t think anybody could look at the presidency in the conduct of Donald Trump and say, this is a person who’s somehow antisemitic.”
“He had dinner with Nick Fuentes, who is an avowed antisemitic,” Bash retorted. Also present at that dinner was Kanye West, who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric. Fuentes, a Holocaust denier, said on a 2023 livestream that “perfidious Jews” should be executed.
“Dana, you should look at the record of Joe Biden and recognize that, whether you’re Jewish or not, his presidency has been a disaster for the American people,” Vance replied, ignoring Bash’s valid point.
During the interview, Bash asked whether Vance will accept the results of the 2024 elections. “I totally plan to accept the results of 2024,” Vance said — adding the caveat that he will accept the results if he deems the election “free and fair.”
“Certainly, if we have a free and fair election, I will accept the results,” he said, adding, “I think that Donald Trump will be the victory. And if it’s a free and fair election, Dana, I think every Republican will enthusiastically accept the results.”