WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump said Thursday night that Jewish voters “really have a lot to do with it” if he loses the November election to Vice President Kamala Harris.
As the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel approaches and the war in Gaza continues, the Republican presidential candidate spoke at two consecutive events in Washington DC on Thursday, promising Jewish Americans that with their vote he would be their protector, defender and “the best friend Jewish Americans have ever had in the White House.”
He and Harris, the Democratic candidate, are vying for the Oval Office in a close race that is just 46 days away and in which Early voting in person has already begun in several states.
“The current polls have me with the Jewish people, with the Jews – with the people who are supposed to love Israel – after I’ve done all that, after I’ve been the best president, the greatest president by far … a poll just came out and I’m at 40 percent,” Trump said at an event with major Republican donor Miriam Adelson on the fight against anti-Semitism in America.
“That means 60% are voting for someone who hates Israel, and I’m saying it – that’s going to happen,” he said. “That’s just because of the Democrats’ influence or curse on you.”
During the Presidential debate earlier this monthHarris reiterated her commitment to giving Israel the right to self-defense, saying: “We must move toward a two-state solution, and that solution must include security for the Israeli people and Israel and an equal measure for the Palestinians.”
She called for an immediate end to the war, saying: “It will only end if we agree to a ceasefire and release the hostages.”
Trump also spoke at the Israel-American Council National Summit, where he said Israel would face “total annihilation” if Harris was elected. At the previous event, he said any Jew who voted for Harris or any other Democrat “should have a brain scan.”
Trump also promised to combat anti-Semitism on campuses across the country. He said that if he were re-elected, his administration would inform every college president in his first week in office that they would lose if they did not “end the anti-Semitic propaganda.” their accreditation and all federal funding.
Harris ad connects Trump with Robinson from North Carolina
Trump on Thursday did not mention North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, the state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate. The Trump ally vowed to stay in the race after a damning CNN investigation published on Thursday.
The sensational CNN report also included Robinson calling himself a “black NAZI” in posts he published on porn forums in 2010 and writing that “slavery is not bad.”
The North Carolina Republican, who has made controversial remarks in the past, has become an issue in the presidential campaign in this crucial swing state.
Trump is scheduled to speak at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday.
The Trump team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on CNN’s investigation on Friday.
In the meantime Harris campaign launched a TV commercial in North Carolina on Friday that seeks to link the former president to Robinson. In the 30-second ad, Trump says, among other things, that Robinson was an “incredible lieutenant governor” and that he “got to know him” and “(Robinson) is outstanding.”
According to the Harris campaign, the ad is also intended to highlight Robinson’s “extreme anti-abortion views.”
Harris speaks about reproductive rights
The announcement of the ad came ahead of Harris’ remarks on Friday in Georgia, where she emphasized her commitment to reproductive freedom in response to a recent ProPublica Investigation It draws a connection between the state’s restrictive abortion law and the deaths of two Georgia women, Amber Thurman and Candi Miller.
Harris also highlighted the impact of the “Trump abortion bans” following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 overturning of the Roe v. Wade ruling, which ended the constitutional right to abortion after nearly half a century. Trump appointed three of the five U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe.
“Now we know that at least two women – and these are just the stories we know – have died here in the state of Georgia because of a Trump abortion ban,” Harris said.
Thurman’s mother and sisters attended a live streamed event Thursday evening in Michigan, where Harris met with Oprah Winfrey.
Harris also made headlines at Thursday’s event when she said, referring to her gun-owning wife, that if someone broke into her house, “they would get shot.” Laughing, the vice president said she “probably shouldn’t have said that” and that her staff would “deal with it later.”
The Democratic presidential candidate said Thursday she supports the Second Amendment but also supports bans on assault weapons, universal background checks and red flag laws, which she called “just common sense.”
Harris is also scheduled to speak at a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday evening.
Trump attends game between Alabama and Georgia
Trump plans to attend the Alabama-Georgia football game in Tuscaloosa on September 28, the University of Alabama confirmed to States Newsroom.
The former president’s security has been under intense scrutiny, especially after what was described as second assassination attempt against Trump in recent weeks.
The university stated: “The security of our campus is and will remain our top priority and the UAPD will work closely with the U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement partners to coordinate security.”
The Secret Service confirmed Friday that she failed to protect the former president during a rally in July in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the first assassination attempt took place.
Control of Congress
As the presidential race continues to be a tough battle, this also applies to races that determine the control of each chamber of Congress.
The Senate’s distribution favors Republicans, with several seats currently held by Democrats in play. Democrats would likely need to win elections in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — and win the presidential election — to retain control of the chamber.
Election forecasters expect the House of Representatives to be more of a neck-and-neck race, with nearly 40 races likely to determine which party controls the chamber.
