Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, told Jewish voters in Michigan this week that he does not understand any Jew who could vote for former President Donald Trump, the Forward first reported.
"It's so vexing to me that any Jew supports him," Emhoff said at a Jewish voter rally in Southfield, Michigan on Sunday. "He [Trump] foments antisemitism everywhere he goes. He does not care about us," he added.
Emhoff, who could become the nation's inaugural "first gentleman," adding he found it "shocking" any Jew could hold a positive view of Trump.
Jewish support for Trump has risen in the past decade and this year in particular following the Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas on Jewish civilians. Many American Jews witnessed a mixed response from the White House coupled with rampant antisemitism on college campuses.
According to a poll released last week from the Manhattan Institute, Jewish support for the Democratic Party has dipped to its lowest percentage in 40 years. Harris currently enjoys the support of 67% of Jewish voters compared to 31% who favor Trump. The figure represents a steep drop since former President Bill Clinton captured 80% of the Jewish vote in 1992.
Emhoff has pointed to past statements of Trump's in which he said Jews who vote Democrat "should have their head examined" and "any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion." Emhoff also cited Trump's 2022 dinner with white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
Trump later wrote that Fuentes had been a guest of rapper Ye, formally Kanye West, and he did not know who he was at the time of the event.
Trump, who has Jewish grandchildren after his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism after she married Jared Kushner in the late 2000s, achieved significant milestones during his time in office to further Israel's interests. The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, formally normalized diplomatic relationship between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.
Trump also moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv thereby recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital city.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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