Trump weaponizes anti-Semitism

After his “very fine people” remarks following Charlottesville, I don’t understand how anyone can’t see that Trump is anti-Semitic. His remarks today were disgusting and dangerous.

“This is yet another example of Donald Trump continuing to weaponize and politicize anti-Semitism” https://t.co/kdRbICpJwj
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) August 20, 2019

How dare you speak for me & other Jewish people @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/JMWMwcZkcW
— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) August 20, 2019

Rep. Ted Deutch on Pres. Trump’s criticism of Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats: “What the President is doing is creating an environment in which anti-Semitism can flourish. … When you suggest that Jews are being disloyal to America…there's no valid reason to say that." pic.twitter.com/mgvKWcuaoT
— CNN (@CNN) August 20, 2019

This statement by Trump — the suggestion that Jews must prove their loyalty to the United States by voting in a particular way — is an appalling piece of antisemitism. https://t.co/iR9KrBBzCS
— Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) August 20, 2019

As a former US Ambassador I swore loyalty to the Constitution of The United States of America of which I continue to uphold my oath. I am a loyal American who is also Jewish and I am very proud of both. I will not be voting for @realDonaldTrump nor anyone who supports him. https://t.co/pQbT1kpYgY
— Bruce A. Heyman (@BruceAHeyman) August 20, 2019

I know many wonderful people who hate my views on Israel. Some are my relatives. But if you're one, I'd humbly ask: If you talk about Palestinians, shouldn't you talk to them? Shouldn't you see for yourself? "Who is wise?" says Pirkei Avot "The one who learns from all people."
— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) August 20, 2019

“Disloyalty” references an anti-Semitic trope that Jewish people have dual loyalty to Israel and therefore are the other. Trump made these remarks almost two years to the day that he said there were “very fine people” among the white nationalists in Charlottesville. https://t.co/eQkn6qtqJG
— Alex Berg (@itsalexberg) August 20, 2019

Trump says Jewish people who vote Democrat show 'great disloyalty' https://t.co/CzIFCMydik via @nbcnews
— Dareh Gregorian (@darehgregorian) August 20, 2019

Here is the president suggesting that Jews are disloyal if they don't vote Republican. The notion of provisional belonging–that Jews aren't really American or French or whatever if they don't do xx–is an idea with a hideous history. N.B. Some 75% of American Jews vote Democrat. https://t.co/fTHTtOSPhi
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) August 20, 2019

Trump's comments make me wonder what would happen if, as is most likely, Jews overwhelmingly vote against him despite his pro-Israel policies. Is there a point at which American Jews essentially become the next Anthony Scaramucci? https://t.co/LYw8fmaS6s
— Philip Klein (@philipaklein) August 20, 2019

Let's take it back further…

2012: 69% of Jewish Americans vote Obama, 30% vote Romney.

2008: 78% of Jewish Americans vote Obama, 21% vote McCain.

2004: 74% of Jewish Americans vote Kerry, 25% vote Bush.

2000: 79% of Jewish Americans vote Gore, 19% vote Bush.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) August 20, 2019

Somehow I doubt it, but not because @rosenbergerlm isn’t dead right here…. https://t.co/KS1Jnc82cu
— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) August 20, 2019

Antisemitism. https://t.co/shhtyuSNI1
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 20, 2019

So, per @RJC, Trump was talking about Jewish people who vote Democratic being disloyal … to themselves? https://t.co/kDlIBm0qYT
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) August 20, 2019

Fact check: false. There are millions of Jews, and somewhere among them must be people stupid enough to believe almost anything https://t.co/vBPIG8ZkB3
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) August 20, 2019

Historically, accusing Jews of mass national disloyalty for supporting the wrong political party has worked out fine. Never been an issue. https://t.co/SKKJm5wYmX
— Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) August 20, 2019

Is calling the 8 out of 10 of American Jews who voted Democratic in 2018 “disloyal” anti-Semitic or nah? https://t.co/sLXYdMF450
— Adam Serwer🍝 (@AdamSerwer) August 20, 2019

Eight of ten Jews vote for Democrats. And is he talking about U.S. citizens showing "great disloyalty" to Israel? https://t.co/wBjcHco9f6
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) August 20, 2019

Democrats dislike Trump more than Republicans like him

I’ve seen lots of interviews with Trump voters. The networks should not forget that there are millions of us who hate him. I hope he dies in jail.

This is an excellent thread.

Great thread about how Dems dislike Trump more than Reps like him https://t.co/mNbneQ3As0
— Eric McGhee (@hezaproject) August 20, 2019

Cheddar Goblin

Cheddar Goblin is a terrific gross fake commercial in the excellent revenge film Mandy which stars Nicholas Cage. His character sees the commercial on TV. More on the back story is here.

Now you can buy Cheddar Goblin merchandise. He’s even on Twitter.

Trump’s golf trips cost us much more than the salary he is donating

You’ve got a long way to get to the $110 million of public funds you’ve spent on golf, some of which has gone into the coffers of your businesses. https://t.co/g5fWTGg9Pb
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 17, 2019

President Trump is donating his salary to the Surgeon General but who's picking up the tab for his golfing? https://t.co/5YHtO2j5Yl
— Laurence "Larry" Boorstein (@LarryBoorstein) August 17, 2019

The president to date has spent 278.5 YEARS of annual presidential salary in taxpayer money to play golf. https://t.co/vkkwfYxzcn
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) August 16, 2019

Are you joking?

Trump is spending 2.5 times as many days playing golf as Obama did.

Trump’s golf costs are 3 times as much as Obama’s — because Trump insists on playing at his own courses in Florida and New Jersey.
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) July 28, 2019

By my count, Trump has spent the equivalent of two-and-a-half months "working" at Bedminster. While there, he can slip off and play golf without reporters knowing, so it's safe to assume that some of his work is on his handicap.https://t.co/M4iggy6Om2
— Philip Bump (@pbump) July 26, 2019

GOLF UPDATE — 21 JULY 2019

Trump remains at his golf course in New Jersey today.

He has now spent 194 days on a golf course he owns.

It is his 17th trip to Bedminster, via Air Force 1 and Marine 1, at a cost of $1.1 million.

Taxpayer golf tab to date: $109.2 million. https://t.co/NaSJLisw6H
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) July 21, 2019

The 2020 election is going to be ugly

We have seen what the Trump strategy will be:

He can’t win on the issues – most people support some gun control, Roe vs. Wade and keeping Obamacare.
He is running on white supremacy to rile up his base and get them to vote.
He will tear down his opponent just lie he did with Clinton. He will use pathetic name calling and lies. The media will help him spread his message.
They will use edited/altered videos. They have already done this.
If the economy goes into a recession, Trump will blame the Federal Reserve and won’t accept any responsibility.
He will use foreign countries like Israel to divide American Democrats. He already wanted to get the Ukraine to help him attack Biden.
If he loses, he won’t accept the results. I expect him to sue (like he does for everything else) and I won’t be surprised if he refuses to leave the White House.
Republicans won’t stop Russian interference because it helps them. McConnell won’t even consider bills passed in the House.
If it gets close to the election and polls show that he will lose, he will really ramp up these strategies. He is afraid of getting indicted which I hope happens as soon as he leaves office.

Democrats need to run on the issues, not his lack of morals. Clinton tried that in 2016 and it failed. The public knew he was a bad person and elected him anyway.

Pundits:

Trump needs 3 things to win in 2020

1) Climb down from his trade war with China – he did that today

2) Vote suppression in tight states with GOP governors, EG Georgia – see below

3) 3d party candidacy to split white progressive vote. Hi Tulsi. https://t.co/SnDW4oBz7C
— David Frum (@davidfrum) August 14, 2019

Trump is staking his reelection strategy on racial division, be it through dog whistles or megaphone, says @Kasie. https://t.co/TxqSYND2eU
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 13, 2019

2020 candidates are attacking Trump as an idiot, a racist, a white supremacist, and more.

A look back at 2016 is a reminder that there's really little left to call him that he hasn't already been called by his own team. https://t.co/EAT5ncvwkv
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) August 13, 2019

Maybe some super-rich Democrats could consider funding @staceyabrams 's national effort to protect voting rights at the level it deserves. I discuss: https://t.co/Mypg3NhrOl
— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman1) August 13, 2019

“Governing by grievance”

This is an excellent article on how Trump is using presidential powers against people he thinks are enemies.

“As Trump has become more attuned to the powers of the presidency over time, he has shown a greater willingness to wield them against his perceived enemies” — incisive @ToluseO piece https://t.co/xPEabWesEp
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) August 16, 2019

Trump focuses on Antifa. They haven’t killed people. White supremacists have.

Trump is just appealing to the bigots who are a large part of his base and avoiding dealing with the real problem which he has made worse. I am not defending any Antifa violence; they’re just not the big problem.

Trump on his reaction to white supremacists: “i’m concerned about the rise of any type of hate. i don’t like it. any type of supremacy, whether it’s white supremacy or antifa…”
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) August 7, 2019

but he only talked about classifying Antifa as terrorists.

There's almost no support for antifa among liberals, @PeterBeinart observes. So why is it that conservative publications are so eager to conjure it up? https://t.co/C1SNUJUbCg
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) July 4, 2019

This is the second time Trump has suggested that the military, the police and Bikers for Trump could be mobilized to go after opponents of his. He also mentioned those three at a midterm rally in November while talking about Antifa. https://t.co/TQgFWeqjDz
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 14, 2019

Trump supporters scared of antifa have created a MAGA-style Yelp for restaurants that will protect them. https://t.co/06DkFqSCjb
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) March 10, 2019

target AntiFa for the express purpose of ensuring that nothing stands in their way if they totally unload on civilians (which is what their social media platforms are CONSTANTLY talking about).

Do you get it now?
— Pam Keith (@PamKeithFL) August 18, 2019

Wow, this is #5 just since the #ElPasoShooting. We have an urgent need to address the fact that too many unhappy white men have too easy access to weapons & the government is slow to react & prefers to focus #antifa. Imagine reaction if 5 Brown or Black men had been arrested 🧐 https://t.co/onGsRjUwZj
— (((Mia Bloom))) (@MiaMBloom) August 18, 2019

And gee…he was at Richard Spencer's Unite the Right rally.

If the president is going to name the two dozen dicks in antifa as a terrorist group, every person who stood there with a torch in Charlottesville or chanted "Jews will not replace us" deserves the same designation. https://t.co/MY6rKrOX9O
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 18, 2019

Donald Trump is playing with the idea of naming Antifa (which does not exist outside a few dozen Portland dickweed kids) as a terrorist group in order to stoke a few days of Fox coverage.

Lordy
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 17, 2019

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Trump calling out Antifa: "I'm not concerning myself with tweets coming out of Washington, D.C., and frankly, it's not helpful." pic.twitter.com/wZ4GVcsLil
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 17, 2019

As Nazis march in Portland today, a reminder that the Proud Boys are a group that the Trump Campaign considers to be part of their coalition.

They need White Supremacist votes to win https://t.co/rVzXljVAAY
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) August 17, 2019