Donald Trump decries his unpopularity among Jewish voters

On the anniversary of the October 7 massacre of Israelis by Hamas, Donald Trump has urged all Jews to back him in November, arguing he’s ‘done more than any other president’ for Israel.

Donald Trump, prays at Ohel Chabad Lubavitch the final resting place of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson the Rebbe, with the family of Edan Alexander, who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th, in attendance. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

Donald Trump has said he should by rights receive “100 per cent” of the Jewish vote given his services to Israel as president, in an interview on the anniversary of the October 7 attack where the former president said Israel was “entitled” to strike’s Iran’s nuclear facilities in retaliation for Tehran’s missile attack last week.

As leaders around the world, including President Joe Biden and Vice president Kamala Harris, held vigils and paid tribute to the 1,200 Israelis massacred a year ago by Hamas, triggering a year of further bloodshed, Mr Trump decried his lack of electoral support from America’s estimated six million-plus Jews, who are expected to vote overwhelmingly for Kamala Harris.

“We should have 100 per cent [of their vote], and I’ll never hit that, but we should have 100 per cent,” he told broadcaster Hugh Hewitt on Monday (Tuesday AEST), referring to the Abraham Accords and Trump’s recognition in 2019 of Jewish sovereignty over the contested Golan Heights.

The president later in the day participated in a prayer with local Jewish leaders at the Ohel Chabad Lubavitch, resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in Queens, New York, where he also met with high profile conservative influencer and Jewish American Ben Shapiro.

NEW YORK: Trump arrived at the Ohel of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Z’L in Queens, after hours of anticipation. He wore a Yarmulke and was gifted a Siddur. He left a note and put a rock on the Matzeiva. pic.twitter.com/nLsbMy0o6x

— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) October 7, 2024

“They [Jews] have to get smart about Trump, because they don’t back me. I did more for Israel than anybody. I did more for the Jewish people than anybody. And it’s not reciprocal,” he added in the interview.

Republicans have struggled to marshal Jewish voters, who in 2020 supported Joe Biden over Trump by a margin of 68 per cent to 28 per cent, despite the former president’s notably pro-Israel policies, according exit polling.

A national poll of Jewish voters published last month found 72 per cent intended to back Harris while 25 per cent said they would support Trump, based on a poll of 800 voters conducted in early September by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.

In his near 30 minute interview, the former president also suggested Israel and Iran might be in the throes of a negotiation in the absence of Israel’s promised and expected retaliation against Iran for firing a barrage of missile at Israel on October 1, triggered by Israel’s execution of senior Hezbollah figures in Beirut earlier.

“They could be making a deal. They could be doing some very smart things right now… But the nice thing is they’re entitled to an attack, and nobody will be upset if they attack, because they’re entitled. Because Iran hit them with 187 missiles,” he explained.

A few hours later his running mate JD Vance told an October 7 memorial event in Washington DC that ceasefire calls amounted to “unilateral surrender,” as he warned America was at “risk of being dragged into a massive and bloody regional conflict.”

Speaking beneath the Washington monument, the Ohio Senator said it was the one year anniversary of the worst terror attack since 9/11, arguing the slaughter of 1,200 innocent people was also “an attack on Americans.”

“Peace comes from confronting our enemies and not hiding from them,” he said. “We support Israel’s right to defend itself and to do what it takes to end the war - bring real peace by ending the war in the right way.”

JD Vance speaks at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Picture: Getty Images via AFP.

Trump and Vance have repeatedly sought to contrast their more strident support for Israel in the face of its regional enemies with that of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who have at least rhetorically had to strike a more neutral tone amid calls from the left wing of the Democratic party to be more mindful of Palestinian interests.

“I’m going to get a little political here,” Vance said, calling the Biden administration’s Middle East policies “disgraceful”. “Vice President Harris, our message is: bring them home. Use your authority to help bring them home. We can do it. We just need real leadership.”

The former president also said Gaza, the war torn base of Hamas, could one day “be better than Monaco” under the right leadership.

“It has the best location in the Middle East, the best water, the best everything… I’ve said it for years. You know, I’ve been there, and it’s rough. It’s a rough place, before the, you know, before all of the attacks and before the back and forth what’s happened over the last couple of years.

Trump, who will deliver further commemorative remarks related to October 7 later tonight at one of his golf courses near Miami, has routinely criticised Jewish voters for supporting Democrats, claiming in March that they must “hate Israel” for doing so.

“Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed,” he said at the time.