Orthodox Jews in the ultra-religious enclave of Monsey, New York, rallied on Sunday for former President Donald Trump — as former President Barack Obama was telling Jewish voters in Wisconsin that Trump is antisemitic.
At a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Milwaukee, Obama attempted to scare Jewish voters, even resorting to the debunked “very fine people” hoax, claiming that Trump is antisemitic.
“Maybe you’re Muslim American or Jewish American and you are heartbroken and furious about the ongoing bloodshed in the Middle East and worried about the rise of antisemitism. Why would you place your faith in somebody who instituted a so called ‘Muslim ban’ [sic], who sat down for pleasantries with Holocaust deniers [sic], who said that there were ‘very fine people’ on both sides of a white supremacist rally [sic]?” Obama asked the crowd.
There was never a “Muslim ban” under the Trump administration; Trump never sought to meet Holocaust deniers; and Trump said that white supremacists should be “condemned totally.” Nevertheless, Obama sought to scare — or shame — Jews into voting for Harris.
But Orthodox Jews — who, theoretically, should be most worried about antisemitism — rallied for Trump over the weekend:
There were other signs of potential Jewish support for Trump, such as long lines to vote early in Lakewood, New Jersey, home to another large Orthodox Jewish community.
Trump is expected to win at least 30% of the Jewish vote, which would be a recent historic high for a Republican candidate. He is expected to win Orthodox Jews, as well as Jewish voters for whom Israel and the fight against antisemitism are top concerns.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.