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Fox News defends, downplays Trump's most recent antisemitic remark

Written by Gideon Taaffe

Published

Republican nominee for president Donald Trump made antisemitic remarks about Jewish voters not supporting him, and some Fox News figures defended his comments. 

This reaction to Trump’s outright antisemitism stands in stark contrast to network personalities’ smears of Democrats over supposed antisemitism, such as the false claim that Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Democrats were antisemitic when Harris didn’t choose Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate.

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  • Donald Trump made antisemitic remarks at an event courting Jewish voters, suggesting Jewish people would be to blame if he lost the election

    • While speaking to a Jewish group on September 19, Trump told the audience that if he were to lose the election, “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss,” while citing an unnamed poll that he said showed he has 40% support among American Jews. He added, “The Democrats are bad to Israel, very bad.” At another event that night Trump complained he was not “treated properly by voters who happen to be Jewish” in 2020 and claimed he should have more Jewish support due to his support for Israel. [CNN, 9/20/24]
    • Trump has a history of pushing similar antisemitic rhetoric and has said that a Jewish person who votes for Democrats is a “fool” and that any Jewish person who votes for Harris “should have their head examined.” He also agreed with a claim from radio host Sid Rosenberg who was interviewing him that second gentleman Doug Emhoff is a “horrible Jew.” Trump has also said that Jewish Democrats “hate” their religion and Israel while talking to far-right commentator Sebastian Gorka. [Media Matters, 8/6/24; The Washington Post, 3/18/24]
    • Trump’s comments play on old “dual loyalty” charges that suggest Jewish Americans prioritize Israel’s interests over America’s. These attacks are part of the antisemitic effort to suggest Jews are undermining society and make Jews scapegoats. [Learning for Justice, 4/8/24]
    • Fox News personalities have repeatedly smeared Democrats by claiming the Democratic Party is antisemitic and platforming people who allege that Democrats have an “antisemitism problem.” Fox News also has a long history of tolerating antisemitism on its airwaves. [Fox News, 8/23/24, 5/8/24, 7/19/24; Media Matters, 12/5/23]

  • Fox News repeatedly defended or ignored Trump’s antisemitic remarks while reporting on the event

    • Mark Levin defended Trump and called it an “illusion” to claim Trump will blame the Jews if he loses and defended his comment, calling it “tongue in cheek.” Levin commented: “The people left there — the vast majority of whom were Jews — very excited and very happy to have met the president and hear what he said. But this is what they turned it into,” he said, holding up an image of a Drudge Report piece showing Trump appearing to perform the Nazi salute, with the headline “Trump: Blame the Jews if I lose.” He continued: “What Trump was saying was, I’m trying to do the very best I can to appeal to the Jewish community for its votes. [Fox News, Life, Liberty, & Levin, 9/21/24]
    • While Fox News Democratic personality Jessica Tarlov called Trump’s comments antisemitic, National Review staff writer Caroline Downey defended Trump’s remarks and agreed with them. Downey claimed that what Trump was doing is “fair game,” adding, “As a pro-Israel voter myself, I also am perplexed that he doesn't have higher support among Jewish-Americans because under his administration America's friendship with Israel was never in doubt.” [Fox News, MediaBuzz, 9/22/24]
    • Fox News anchor Dana Perino brought up Trump’s antisemitic remarks, saying, “I didn’t see the full context,” and claiming that “he might have said it in jest.” She then added, “I think it was a little bit tongue in cheek.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 9/20/24]
    • Fox News mentioned Trump’s September 19 speeches several other times, but often failed to note that Trump placed blame on Jewish Americans. In one instance, Fox anchor Chanley Painter highlighted that “Trump criticized Harris” for “antisemitic protests” but failed to mention Trump’s own antisemitic remarks in that speech. In another example, anchor Martha MacCallum noted that Trump is “encouraging Jewish voters in America, saying that voting for him is a vote for Israel — for the future of Israel,” but did not mention Trump suggesting Jewish voters would be largely responsible for his electoral loss. [Fox News, Fox News @ Night, 9/19/24; Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, 9/20/24]

  • But Fox personalities and guests repeatedly and falsely suggested Harris/Democrats are antisemitic because she didn’t choose Josh Shapiro as her running mate

    • Fox News host Greg Gutfeld said he could say “unequivocally without any data” that Harris would have picked Shapiro if he wasn’t Jewish. He added, “It's got to be weird to be a Jewish liberal when it's an open discussion that your party has a faction within it that hates Jews.” [Fox News, The Five, 8/6/24]
    • Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar commented on Harris picking Walz over Shapiro on Fox’s America’s Newsroom: “You can't discount the discrimination and the antisemitism factor in the decision in … this selection.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 8/6/24]
    • Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade claimed picking Walz over Shapiro “brings the whole — the antisemitism thing — and that that’s marbled into the party.” He added that Trump has the “Jewish vote.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 8/12/24]
    • Fox News host Jesse Watters alleged that sources said Shapiro was “too Jewish for the Hamas wing of the party.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 8/6/24]
    • Fox News’ Dana Perino claimed that “Walz was the choice of the squad and every antisemitic high-profile Democrat.” She also claimed that The New York Times did a “deep dive” on why Shapiro wasn’t chosen, saying, “The bottom line was because he’s Jewish.” She seems to have been referring to an opinion piece from the newspaper. [Fox News, The Five, 8/19/24; The New York Times, 8/17/24]