Former President Donald Trump has accused President Joe Biden of offering a weak response to antisemitism, particularly focusing on the clashes on college campuses surrounding the war in Gaza. Despite this, Trump’s attacks ignore his own history of rhetoric that invokes the language of Nazi Germany and plays on stereotypes of Jews and politics. Trump recently referred to Biden’s administration as a “Gestapo administration” at a private retreat for Republican donors in Florida, causing backlash from Jewish organizations and Biden’s campaign. Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, called Trump’s comments a deliberate tactic to attack Biden and distract from his own track record.
As pro-Palestinian demonstrations have sparked antisemitic chants and messages on college campuses, Trump’s campaign released a video aimed at contrasting the 2024 presidential candidates’ responses to antisemitism. The video showed images of Trump visiting Israel and speeches pledging to stand with Jewish people and confront antisemitism, while also including footage of Biden responding to protesters upset with his support for Israel in its conflict against Hamas. Despite Biden condemning the antisemitic protests and calling for order, Trump’s campaign criticized him for not acting sooner and accused him of needing the votes of protesters supporting Hamas.
After white nationalists chanted anti-Semitic slogans in Charlottesville in 2017, Trump faced backlash for saying there were “very fine people on both sides.” The comparisons to Nazi ideology have continued throughout his campaigns, with critics pointing to instances where he praised neo-Nazis, dined with white nationalists, and used language reminiscent of Adolf Hitler. Trump has also been accused of using anti-Semitic tropes by suggesting that Jewish people who vote for Democrats hate Israel and their religion, portraying them as disloyal to their country. In response to Trump’s use of the term “Gestapo,” Jewish history professor Jonathan Sarna emphasized the dangers of Nazi comparisons, calling them historically incorrect and morally offensive.
Biden’s campaign has condemned Trump’s comments as despicable and viewed them as an attack on law enforcement. Trump’s attempts to position himself as a champion against antisemitism come amidst the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict and the ensuing unrest. Republicans, including Trump, have seized on the disruptions on college campuses to paint Biden and Democrats as weak, illustrating a longstanding tactic of deflecting criticism onto opponents. Despite Trump’s claims of standing with Jewish people, his history of invoking Nazi rhetoric and stereotypes is cause for concern among Jewish organizations and critics. As the 2024 election looms, the contrasting approaches of the two candidates towards antisemitism are likely to become a focal point of debate and discussion among voters.
