Trump Asked If Filmmaker Was ‘Good Jewish Character’ While Criticizing U.S. Jews, Report Says

Topline

Former President Donald Trump asked a documentary filmmaker last year if he was a “good Jewish character” while complaining about what he felt was little appreciation from American Jews, according to footage obtained by the New York Times, marking the latest controversial statement by Trump about Jewish people.

Then-President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office on May 28, 2020.

Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images

Key Facts

Trump reportedly told filmmaker Alex Holder not to let the cameras roll while he spoke about Jews, lamenting what he claimed was “like, 94%” support among Israeli Jews but only “27%, 28%” support from Jews in the United States.

Holder also told the Times Trump suggested at one point that Holder should be appreciative of Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—Holder responded that he was British, to which Trump replied, “But you’re Jewish,” inferring he thought Holder felt some loyalty to Israel.

The former president also boasted about commuting the sentence of Sholom Rubashkin in 2017 after a 2008 raid uncovered that he was employing hundreds of undocumented workers at an Iowa meatpacking plant—Trump incorrectly called Rubashkin a “rabbi.”

The clip reportedly ends with Trump asking someone if they’re Persian, telling a group of people around him, “Be careful—they’re very good salesmen.”

The footage was not included in Holder’s recent documentary, Unprecedented, which aired on Discovery Plus, but it has been obtained by the House January 6 committee as part of its investigation into the attack on the Capitol, according to the Times.

Trump’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.

Crucial Quote

“Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel—Before it is too late!” Trump said in a Truth Social post Sunday, where he again bemoaned what he felt was not enough gratitude from U.S. Jews.

Key Background

Trump has a long history of pushing anti-Semitic tropes, mostly when it comes to suggesting American Jews owe allegiance to Israel. In 2019, he called former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “your prime minister” when speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition, and in separate comments that year said Jews who voted Democratic were showing “either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” The former president also sparked controversy during an interview last year, saying, “It used to be that Israel had absolute power over Congress.”

Surprising Fact

Trump’s son-in-law and former White House advisor Jared Kushner is Jewish, and his daughter Ivanka is a convert to the faith. Kushner and Ivanka Trump are raising their children in the Jewish faith.

Tangent

Rapper Kanye West, who now goes by “Ye,” has prompted outrage over recent blatantly anti-Semitic comments, such as a tweet threatening to go “death con 3 on Jewish people,” Twitter suspended his account, but Parler—a Twitter-esque right-wing platform—announced Monday that West is buying it. Trump has sidestepped criticism of West over the comments, saying in an interview this week that West “was really nice to me.”