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The latest Pew Research Center report produced some fascinating data about the partisan affiliations of all kinds of American constituencies, including religious groups. Pew found, for example, that most Jewish voters continue to mostly align with Democrats: “About seven-in-ten Jewish voters (69%) associate with the Democratic Party, while 29% affiliate with the Republican Party.”
What’s more, the same survey data found that the share of Jewish voters who align with the Democrats “has increased 8 percentage points since 2020.”
I can think of a certain former president who will not be pleased with these results.
Revisiting our earlier coverage, Donald Trump seems to believe that he took a series of steps he considered pro-Israel, with the expectation that he’d receive an electoral reward from Jewish voters. When they largely stuck with Democrats anyway, Trump deemed them ungrateful.
This attitude continues to produce ugly results. Last summer, for example, the Republican used his social media platform to share a missive that accused “liberal Jews” of voting to “destroy” America and Israel. Last month, as NBC News reported, Trump went further, invoking a dual loyalty trope by claiming that Jewish voters who support Democrats “hate Israel.”
The former president went on to condemn Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — the highest ranking Jewish lawmaker in American history — as being “very anti-Israel,” which is hilarious to anyone who knows anything about Chuck Schumer.
But what I find extraordinary is how the presumptive GOP nominee simply won’t let this go. A couple of days ago, for example, he appeared on a conservative media outlet and insisted that any Jewish person who votes for President Joe Biden “does not love Israel” and “should be spoken to.”
A day later, as a New York Times report noted, he kept the offensive going.
Former President Donald J. Trump once again criticized Jews who back Democratic candidates on Wednesday, saying that “any Jewish person that votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined.”
The Republican went on to insist that Biden, who’s faced fierce criticisms for his support of Israel, has “totally abandoned Israel.”
Stepping back, Trump seems convinced that if he simply badgers Jewish voters enough, maybe they’ll change their minds and support his candidacy.
It remains a twisted perspective. The Republican’s sense of entitlement is so overwhelming that he believes he effectively completed a transaction with the assumption that Jewish voters would feel compelled to put aside their values and judgment, and support him in droves, his history of antisemitic rhetoric notwithstanding.
The more Jews back Biden, the more the former president feels justified lashing out at those who’ve failed to meet his expectations. If Trump believes this will convince Jewish voters to change their political views, he’s likely to be disappointed.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.