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Kustoff: Biden’s handling of antisemitism could lure Jews to back Trump

Tennessee lawmaker suggests Jewish voters will sense 'not enough pushback on antisemitism' from administration

Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images

Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) speaks at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on oversight of the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve coronavirus pandemic response on Capitol Hill on September 30, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

MILWAUKEE — Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN), one of two Jewish Republicans in the House, suggested in an interview on Wednesday that former President Donald Trump will draw meaningful support in the November election from Jewish voters who say they are disenchanted with the Biden administration’s handling of antisemitism provoked by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The Hamas attacks of Oct. 7 were “a big reset” for Jewish Americans and their “perceptions of the political parties, especially among the Democrats,” Kustoff told Jewish Insider on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention, which concludes on Thursday night.

“For a number of American Jews who traditionally vote Democrat, I think that they look and see that there’s not enough pushback on antisemitism,” he said of President Joe Biden, predicting that such feelings will “translate to more support for Trump.”

Even as the GOP’s newly approved platform has faced criticism from Republican leaders who say its section on countering antisemitism lacks substance, Kustoff, who has prioritized efforts to counter rising anti-Jewish prejudice, said he was “not concerned” by the limited scope.

While the Tennessee congressman acknowledged that the platform — at just 16 pages — is short on specifics, he otherwise voiced approval of what he described as Trump’s commitment to confronting antisemitism.

“While we don’t know who will be in the administration yet,” he speculated, “I have full confidence that they’re going to stand strong in condemning antisemitism” and “supporting Israel.”

In the meantime, Kustoff — who serves on the House Ways and Means Committee — indicated that “there is going to be a push to delve further” into antisemitic activity on college campuses “and look for possible remedies,” though he did not share details.

On Wednesday morning, Kustoff was among a few GOP lawmakers who headlined a Jewish leadership coalition kick-off event to fundraise for the Trump campaign — where he said attendees talked up the former president’s achievements on Israel and the Middle East, among other things.

Kustoff, who visited Israel earlier this month, said he was comfortable with Trump’s decision to pick Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his running mate, even though the Ohio Republican in April voted against a $95 billion aid bill for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and has frequently espoused isolationist rhetoric.

“I think the main thing is, what are the views of President Trump?” he said. “We’ve got four years of the past to take a look at that — and everybody who works with or for President Trump is going to have an extension of where he is on foreign policy.”

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