President Donald Trump—a man who called literal neo-Nazis “very fine people,” and who tried to claim his picture of a Jewish symbol surrounded by cash was actually just a “sheriff’s star”—accused the Democratic Party of being “anti-Israel” and “anti-Jewish” on Friday, after House Democrats unanimously voted to condemn anti-Semitism. And if that sentence doesn’t tie your brain into a migraine-inducing gordian knot, congratulations, you’re some sort of superhuman genetic abnormality.
Speaking with reporters in the White House driveway before heading to Alabama to survey recovery efforts following that state’s recent tornadoes, Trump insisted that by voting to condemn anti-Semitism and other forms of hate—many of which he, himself, regularly traffics in—it is the Democrats themselves who hate Jews.
“I thought yesterday’s vote by the House was disgraceful,” Trump said. “Because the Democrats have become the anti-Israel party, they’ve become an anti-Jewish party, and I thought that vote was a disgrace, and so does everybody else if you get an honest answer.”
As a reminder, here’s some of what the House actually voted on:
Condemning anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values and aspirations that define the people of the United States and condemning anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contrary to the values and aspirations of the United States.
And later:
Whereas whether from the political right, center, or left, bigotry, discrimination, oppression, racism, and imputations of dual loyalty threaten American democracy and have no place in American political discourse
And later still:
Whereas accusing Jews of being more loyal to Israel or to the Jewish community than to the United States constitutes anti-Semitism because it suggests that Jewish citizens cannot be patriotic Americans and trusted neighbors, when Jews have loyally served our Nation every day since its founding, whether in public or community life or military service.
Yes, from the text, it’s clear that all 235 Democrats who voted in favor of this resolution hate Israel and the Jewish people. Meanwhile, among the Republicans who refused to vote for the measure were Iowa Rep. Steve King, who gives interviews to European neo-Nazi publications after visiting Auschwitz, and Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, who spouts anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on Fox News.
In any case, I’m sure the average 71 percent of American Jews who have voted for Democratic candidates in every presidential election since 1968 will be glad to know that, actually, they’re the real anti-Semites here.