Republican Senator Tom Cotton appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper on Sunday, where Tapper attempted to challenge President Trump over his recent comments about Jewish voters and the election.
Senator Cotton, however, quickly stepped in to defend Trump, offering context and pointing out the Democratic Party’s history of anti-Semitism in the current election cycle.
Tapper played a clip from a speech Trump gave last week during an event focused on combating anti-Semitism.
In the clip, Trump remarked that Jewish people “would have a lot to do with the loss” if they didn’t support him. Tapper pressed Cotton on whether he was comfortable with those comments.
Cotton responded, “Donald Trump has been making statements like this for nearly a year, since the October 7th attack. The only reason Democrats are pouncing on it now is because polling shows Trump gaining unprecedented support from Jewish voters for a Republican.”
He added, “Joe Biden hasn’t strongly backed Israel for the past 11 months, and Kamala Harris has been even worse—treating Benjamin Netanyahu like a school child who’s constantly being reprimanded.”
When Tapper tried to shift the focus to Jewish voters supporting candidates for various reasons, Cotton pushed back, saying, “Trump’s remarks were about fighting anti-Semitism globally. When was the last time Kamala Harris spoke about combating anti-Semitism?”
Tapper continued to press Cotton on his comfort level with Trump’s comments, but Cotton emphasized the larger issue.
“Jake, the Democratic Party has a large and growing anti-Semitic wing. That’s the party where anti-Semitism has been festering for over a year,” Cotton concluded, making clear where he believes the real issue lies.
WATCH:
“Are you comfortable with him blaming it on the Jews preemptively?”@jaketapper challenges @SenTomCotton over Trump’s comments that if he loses in November, “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with” it. pic.twitter.com/wtuip7D7Zv
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) September 22, 2024
Since the October 7th attacks, anti-Semitism has become increasingly visible within segments of the Democratic Party and its supporting organizations.
Earlier this year, several college campuses saw organized protests that not only promoted Hamas but also spread anti-Semitic rhetoric.
Vice President Kamala Harris further displayed weakness and poor leadership in July when she declined to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.
This move was seen as a significant insult to the Jewish community and raised concerns about an underlying tolerance for anti-Semitism within the administration.