Trump had a little sad last night
Buried in his efforts to convince a sympathetic audience that he deserved to return to the White House, Donald Trump made an important admission about a long-standing frustration.
“With all I have done for Israel,” he said at a campaign event ostensibly centered on antisemitism, “I received only 24 percent of the Jewish vote. Now think of this. I really haven’t been treated very well, but that’s the story of my life.”
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In Trump’s estimation, he deserves both credit and unwavering support from Jewish Americans because of the things he did on Israel’s behalf as president. He said as much at the event.
“I said, I’m the best friend they ever had. And still in 2020 — so remember, I got 24, 25 percent [of the Jewish vote in 2016]. Now, I did all of these things and I got 29 percent,” Trump complained. “Think of it. So I wasn’t treated right. But it’s not me that’s been treated badly. It’s Israel.”
This is a recurring theme of Trump’s politics. Making his pitch to skeptical constituencies, he cobbles together accomplishments that he then promotes as exceptional, as the pinnacle of what those groups might have wanted. Black Americans want opportunity zones. Jewish people want the American Embassy to be in Jerusalem. He delivered on these things — but they still don’t love him? How can that be?
Bump points out that this is just what Trump thinks these constituencies want, I’d imagine based upon various donors (like Miriam Adelson, who sponsored the event last night) and some oddball supporters. He makes up a fantasy of his own greatness and gets very disappointed when the rubes don’t appreciate it.
He said that the Democratic Party had a “hold, or curse,” on Jewish Americans and repeated his claim that Jews would be “out of their minds” to vote for them because “because it will face an unceasing, bloody war to obliterate the Jewish state and drive Jews out of the Holy Land.” He called Chuck Schumer a member of Hamas. Some people cheered.
He also said last night that it would be the Jews fault if he doesn’t win which sets up some very dangerous incentives for his Nazi constituency which seems to be growing every day. Nice. “You Jews might want to rethink your support or things might get a little bit dicey, if you know what I mean.”
As Ed Kilgore noted, “if the hallmark of antisemitism is irrational fury at Jews combined with stereotypes of how they should think and behave, Trump is more of a suspect than a defender and vindicator.”