Did Trump Steal Israeli Campaign Slogan From Labor MK?
Donald Trump has an obsession with copyright. His “Make America Great Again” slogan was trademarked as early as November 2012, days after Mitt Romney lost the race for president.
But since then, Trump has made it a habit of rehashing slogans from the past. “America First,” a slogan adopted by the movement that tried to keep America out of World War II, is now being used as the label of his foreign policy approach.
And on Monday, the Trump campaign unveiled yet another slogan, this time as part of a campaign to court U.S. expats in Israel. “Trump: In Israel’s Interest” is the Hebrew slogan featured on posters hung on stands in shopping malls across the country, particularly in cities with a high concentration of U.S voters, including Jerusalem, Modiin, Ra’anana and Beit Shemesh.
The slogan, it appears, is identical to a slogan released last month by Knesset Member Erel Margalit, who has mounted a campaign to challenge Labor’s chairperson Isaac Herzog in next year’s leadership primary in hope to defeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the next Knesset elections.
In a July 31 press conference, Margalit presented a new diplomatic plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The proposal was labeled as “a common interests plan,” which looks to include other states in the region, ones with similar economic and security interests as Israel’s, in implementing trust-building measures to solve the conflict.
A source who spoke to one of Margalit’s campaign team told Jewish Insider that one of Trump’s advisors received a copy of the plan last week and commented, “I like the slogan.”
Trump’s Israel campaign did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Jewish Insider whether they were aware of Margalit’s plan and inspired by his slogan.
“If true, it’s good to know my regional peace plan is making waves with the presidential candidates,” Margalit told Jewish Insider.
Ironically, Margalit was recently compared to Trump by Israeli newspapers after he released a provocative video complaining about the country’s problems in somewhat vulgar language, and ending it with a rant, “Give us back the country, damn it.”
“The comparison is unfair,” Margalit told The Jerusalem Post in June. “Trump built his business with casinos and real estate. I built my companies by employing young people in the periphery. I use tough language against racism. He uses tough language in making racist remarks.”