Early on Monday, the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” attempted to puzzle out why Donald Trump launched what appears to have been an unprovoked — and widely criticized — attack on American Jews that ended with the former president warning they need to “get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel – Before it is too late!”
Speaking with “Morning Joe” regular Jonathan Lemire, co-host Joe Scarborough asked him if anyone close to the ex-president has any idea what was behind the post on Truth Social that set off a firestorm and was criticized by liberals and conservatives alike.
“No one knows,” LeMire admitted before adding, “It seems to have come out of nowhere, this rant from the former president over the weekend. But he has danced very dangerous to anti-Semitic remarks before, a couple moments during the campaign.”
“His defense would be my daughter is married to someone who is Jewish, Jared Kushner, therefore I can’t be anti-Semitic,” he added. “But this is repulsive stuff, and it was widely condemned, not just by the usual Democrats, there were conservatives who spoke out against this, obviously the Anti-Defamation League and other groups worried about what this could yield — we haven’t gotten anything else from the Trump camp on this.”
“Well, and again, I mean, even the fine line, Jews need to basically ‘get their act together before it’s too late,’ is obviously deeply disturbing because it’s not sending a dog whistle — it’s an out and out threat,” Scarborough interjected.
“The thing is, there were some observers that said, as always, it’s not about Jews in Israel, it’s not about Jews in America, it’s always about Donald Trump,” he continued. “He’s still smarting by the fact that over three out of four Jews in America voted for Joe Biden, so there are people close to him that suggest that still rankles him that he got beaten so badly among Jewish voters in America.”
He then added, “But to do that, and say basically they better get their act together before it’s too late, sounds ominous. It sounds ominous like saying that [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell has a quote ‘death wish’.”
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