President Donald Trump and Chuck Schumer at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Trump: ‘Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I’m concerned. He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian.’
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Muslim groups criticized US President Donald Trump for referring to Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer as a “Palestinian.” They took issue with the use of ‘Palestinian’ as an implied slur.
Some Jewish groups were upset that Trump was apparently questioning Schumer’s Jewish identity.
Trump made the comments in the Oval Office during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, who is pro-Palestinian.
The US president said, “Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I’m concerned. He’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian.”
These remarks echo comments Trump made about the senator in August when he questioned his support for Israel.
At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Trump claimed Schumer was a “proud member” of Hamas.
“He fell in line,” Trump said of the New York Democrat. “Schumer refused to shake the Israeli prime minister’s hand.”
“Chuck Schumer has become a Palestinian. Yes, he has. Can you believe it. He has become a proud member of Hamas.”
In response to Trump’s remarks in the Oval Office, Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said, “President Trump’s use of the term ‘Palestinian’ as a racial slur is offensive and beneath the dignity of his office.”
Awad added that Trump was engaged in the “continuing dehumanization” of Palestinians with his rhetoric.
The Anti-Defamation League criticized Trump’s remarks about Schumer, and said, “A President has many powers, but none of them include deciding who is and isn’t Jewish. Doing so, and using ‘Palestinian’ as a slur, are both beneath any POTUS. Instead of weaponizing people’s identity, use the power of the bully pulpit to bring the American people together.”
Jonathan Jacoby, who leads the Nexus Project, an antisemitism watchdog, said, “Trump’s attack on Schumer is antisemitic and racist. He’s policing Jewish identity, invoking the dual loyalty trope, and implying Palestinians are evil. This is dangerous incitement. Jewish groups must say it clearly: the President is spreading hate and weaponizing antisemitism.”
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