Stop Making Excuses for Trump

Donald Trump’s use of the word “Shylock” at a recent rally—a term long recognized as antisemitic, derived from the greedy Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice—is not just another careless gaffe. This is another addition to the well-documented pattern of Trump either stoking antisemitic tropes or, at best, being willfully ignorant of them. When pressed, he predictably claimed he didn’t know the term’s history. But let’s be honest: he knew… or he didn’t care. Either way, it’s inexcusable. But yet, Jewish people on the political right continue to defend and support him. That’s not just baffling… it’s heartbreaking.

Let’s be clear: supporting Israel doesn’t give Trump a pass to insult or endanger Jews elsewhere. Too often, his defenders point to his alliance with Netanyahu or his decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem as proof that he’s a “friend” of the Jewish people. But that’s a transactional, superficial alliance. His vision of Judaism is entirely political and tribal—he sees Jews as useful only if they play into his worldview. When he speaks to Jewish audiences, he often implies that their true loyalty should be to Israel, not America. That’s the dual loyalty trope in action, and it’s as dangerous now as it was when it led to Jews being persecuted, expelled, and murdered throughout history.

Time and again, Trump has played footsie with white supremacists and antisemites. From his infamous “very fine people on both sides” comment after Charlottesville during his first term, to dining with Holocaust-denying rapper Ye and white nationalist Nick Fuentes. When his Jewish supporters brush these actions aside, they’re not just engaging in political pragmatism but are also actively helping normalize antisemitism.

Some Jewish conservatives argue that they’re simply choosing the “lesser of two evils” or prioritizing policies they feel align with their values—economic, foreign, or religious. That’s a valid political stance in theory, but it becomes morally bankrupt when it means turning a blind eye to rhetoric and behavior that endangers our own people. If your support requires you to make excuses every time your chosen candidate retweets an antisemite, uses coded hate speech, or dog-whistles to neo-Nazis, then it’s time to ask yourself an important question… What are you really supporting?

Trump’s base includes a toxic mix of Christian nationalists, conspiracy theorists, and people who think George Soros is the root of all evil. These people are not fringe in the MAGA world—they are central. They attend the rallies, they run the podcasts, they drive the online narratives. Trump doesn’t ignore them… he amplifies them. So when Jewish Republicans rally behind him, they’re aligning themselves with people who fundamentally hate who we are.

This isn’t just about bad optics. It’s about safety. American Jews are facing a rise in antisemitic violence and harassment. Synagogues are targets. Jewish college students are harassed. Antisemitic memes spread like wildfire online. Trump, through his words and silence, gives license to this hate. Every time he shrugs off a slur or refuses to condemn hate groups clearly, he emboldens them.

It’s also important to ask: what message does this send to the next generation of Jews? That we’re supposed to trade our dignity and safety for access to political power? That it’s okay to be used as a token by a movement that barely conceals its disdain for us? That as long as a candidate is good for Israel, we should just ignore their bigotry at home?

This kind of thinking is spiritually corrosive. It hollows out our values and makes our calls for justice ring hollow. How can we demand justice for ourselves if we look away when others are targeted—or when we are targeted by “our side”?

Jewish tradition calls us to be a light unto the nations, to pursue justice, and to remember our own history of persecution. It does not call us to kiss the ring of a demagogue for the sake of political expediency. Trump has shown again and again that he is not an ally. He’s a danger to our community, our democracy, and our shared humanity.

It’s time for Jewish Trump supporters to wake up. To stop making excuses. To stop pretending that antisemitism only counts when it comes from the left. To recognize that hate is hate, no matter the direction it comes from. And to understand that enabling Trump’s behavior makes them complicit in a tide of antisemitism that is only growing more bold.

The stakes are too high for denial.