I write for a local deadline. Recently, just after I wrapped up a column about the president’s toxic rhetoric, he spewed more of the same.
This time he was telling a pro-Israel conference, populated predominately by Jewish voters, that they might not like him, but they will vote for him anyway because he will protect them from any wealth taxes.
Yep, in the 21st century, speaking to the Israeli American Council, as reported by Vanity Fair, President Donald Trump, “dove right into the stereotype about Jews and money, telling the group: ‘A lot of you are in the real estate business, because I know you very well. You’re brutal killers, not nice people at all,’ he said.
“‘But you have to vote for me – you have no choice. You’re not gonna vote for Pocahontas, I can tell you that. You’re not gonna vote for the wealth tax. Yeah, let’s take 100% of your wealth away! Some of you don’t like me. Some of you I don’t like at all, actually. And you’re going to be my biggest supporters because you’re going to be out of business in about 15 minutes if they get it. So I don’t have to spend a lot of time on that.’”
[I’ll point out the typically Trump racist slur against Elizabeth Warren – and his disparagement of Pocahontas. Vanity Fair pointed out the obvious lie that any Democrat has proposed a 100% wealth tax. None have.]
Taking a page right out of the Henry Ford/Adolf Hitler playbook, Trump claims Jews will do anything to protect their money. Pretty lousy message while much of the world was celebrating the birth of a Jewish baby a couple millennia ago.
Last week – at what was called an early Hanukkah event – the president announced an executive order to fight anti-Semitism in college. One of the speakers, reported by Huffington Post, was one of our bigot-in-chief’s favorite preachers, Baptist Robert Jeffress. “‘I like that guy. Man, he talks really great about me,’ Trump said.”
Rev. Jeffress doesn’t talk all that well about others – Jews, among them. A 2009 sermon demonstrated his credentials for his presence at a Donald Trump Hanukkah event:
“‘Not only do religions like Mormonism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, not only do they lead people away from the true God, they lead people to an eternity of separation from God in hell. You know, Jesus was very clear. Hell is not only going to be populated by murderers and drug dealers and child abusers. Hell is going to be filled with good religious people who have rejected the truth of Christ.’”
The same president who likes this guy who says nice things about him has a daughter-he’d-like-to-date who converted to Judaism and Jewish grandchildren who are hell-bound, according to Rev. Jeffress. But say nice things about Donald and nothing else matters. I’d say toss logic out the window, but logic is never in the same room with Trump.
