Donald Trump Jr. is facing scrutiny for amplifying an outspoken anti-Israel comedian on social media over the weekend, particularly as he takes a leading role in shaping the incoming Trump administration.

On Sunday, Trump Jr. voiced his agreement with Dave Smith, a libertarian podcaster and comedian, who in a post on X called for “maximum pressure to keep all neocons and war hawks out of the Trump administration.”

The post came shortly after President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday night that he would not ask Mike Pompeo, his former secretary of state, and Nikki Haley, who served as his ambassador to the United Nations, to join his next administration.

“The ‘stop Pompeo’ movement is great but it’s not enough,” Smith said in his post responding to the decision. “They have had their time at the table and brought nothing but disaster to the world and this country,” he added. “America First: screw the war machine!”

Trump Jr., for his part, endorsed that view on X, where he has nearly 13 million followers. “Agreed 100% 100% 100%!!!” he wrote the following day. “I’m on it.”

By boosting Smith, Trump Jr. was aligning with a fierce critic of Israel and its ongoing war in Gaza — which he has called “every bit as evil as the worst of” Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks, “and on a much larger scale.” The comedian has also claimed that “the way Israel was founded was illegitimate and immoral,” while suggesting that, during World War II, “the Zionist agenda at the time very much lined up with Hitler’s agenda,” among other incendiary remarks.

In recent months, Smith, who is Jewish, has indulged Holocaust revisionism in conversations with Candace Owens, a far-right provocateur who frequently traffics in antisemitic tropes, and Darryl Cooper, a Hitler apologist who has argued Winston Churchill was the “chief villain” of World War II.

Smith has defended Owens and Cooper, even as Republicans have sought to distance themselves from the two controversy-stoking commentators.

Over the summer, for instance, Trump Jr. faced backlash for a scheduled appearance with Owens at a crypto event in Nashville, Tenn. — prompting her removal from the gathering. Meanwhile, some GOP lawmakers criticized Cooper after he sat down for a friendly interview with Tucker Carlson, a close ally of Trump Jr. who is also reportedly advising on the transition process. 

Smith, who boasts a sizable following on social media, has also denounced Trump’s policies in the Middle East — even as he identifies as a MAGA enthusiast. On X last March, he called Trump “a war criminal who should spend his life in prison,” citing the Abraham Accords as contributing to “increases in civilian deaths” across the region. 

In June, Smith condemned Trump after his consequential debate with President Joe Biden — urging his followers to “take a moment to appreciate how unbelievably awful and cowardly Trump’s take on Israel was.”

“Joe Biden, the lifelong Zionist who is currently funding the assault on Gaza, is a ‘Palestinian?’ Wow, good one Trump!” Smith said, referring to a remark Trump made in the debate. “He had an opportunity to actually take a brave America first stance but instead he decided to be every worthless Republican I’ve heard make the same tired argument for my entire life.”

Asked for his response to Smith’s past statements, Trump Jr.’s team sought to distance him from the comedian in a statement shared with Jewish Insider on Monday.   

“Don is not familiar with his views on Israel,” Arthur Schwartz, a spokesperson for Trump Jr., said of Smith. “He’s not familiar with the views on Israel held by most people that he interacts with on X. But this guilt by association nonsense is one of many reasons that Dems got their asses handed to them on Election Day, so please keep it up.”

Smith, for his part, did not respond to a request for comment about his engagement with Trump Jr.

While Smith praised Trump’s announcement that he would not include Pompeo and Haley in his next administration, he said in a separate post that the president-elect “followed up with a horrible” pick for ambassador to the United Nations, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who was offered the position on Monday. 

He also proposed a handful of isolationists for top national security posts, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a critic of U.S. aid to Israel, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). “These, very realistic, picks alone would send shockwaves through DC,” Smith said on X, “and bring serious change to the most corrupt town on earth.”

Trump Jr.’s decision to boost Smith this weekend, which drew criticism on social media, underscored some of the tensions surrounding his involvement in the transition process — where he has vowed to enlist MAGA loyalists who won’t interfere with his father’s agenda.

It also underscored heightened concerns among traditionally conservative pro-Israel voices who have privately expressed reservations about the direction the president-elect will take on Middle East policy in a second term.

Trump has indicated that he will work to expand the Abraham Accords and return to a hardline approach against Iran. But he has sent mixed messages on the Middle East, calling for Israel to quickly wrap up its war in Gaza and using contradictory rhetoric while courting Arab American voters in Michigan during the election.

It remains unclear how that ideological push and pull will ultimately shape Trump’s policies toward Israel, as he excludes some of the most prominent pro-Israel voices from his first administration while staffing a second.

For the moment, at least, some pro-Israel Republicans are taking a wait-and-see approach to the Trump transition — even as his son’s recent social media activity has raised questions about key foreign policy decisions.

“Let’s first see who he picks for his Cabinet before making any judgments,” said Eric Levine, a GOP fundraiser who sits on the board of the Republican Jewish Coalition.