DORAL, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Democrats for antisemitism at an event commemorating the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, then claimed there was no antisemitism in the ranks of the Republican Party, even as his own endorsed candidate for governor in North Carolina is at the center of a scandal involving antisemitic remarks.

Trump’s comments, delivered to more than 100 invited guests at his private resort in Doral, Florida, were softer than past speeches addressing the conflict in the Middle East. He shied away from direct attacks against his political opponents or from insulting Jews who support them, instead taking swipes at the Biden administration in an address that veered between solemn memorial and political rally.

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Before Trump’s remarks, a rabbi led a ceremony in which a number of Jewish leaders and elected officials lit memorial candles and delivered remarks to honor the more than 1,200 people killed when Hamas attacked Israel last year. Event organizers left a section of chairs empty on either side of the stage with photos of hostages who remain in the Gaza Strip, a statement about their continued captivity.

But the energy changed with Trump’s arrival. He stood basking in applause and gave a small shuffling dance as “God Bless the U.S.A.,” his typical entrance music, played. He opened his remarks by talking about the hurricane approaching Florida, then indirectly criticized the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.

Trump then decried the Oct. 7 attack. He vowed to back Israel’s right to defend itself, once again insisting that Israel had to finish its war quickly, and he called for the United States to play a stronger role in bringing about the end of conflict in the Middle East. “You have no idea the role that the United States has to play in order to get that ball over the goal line,” he said.

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Trump Blames Leadership for Antisemitism

Trump did not blame the Biden administration for the Mideast conflict. But as he blamed “the leadership of this country” for a rise in antisemitism — ignoring the rise in reported antisemitic acts during his presidency — someone in the crowd called out “what leadership?”

Trump responded, “That’s true.”

Later, Trump spoke broadly about anti-Jewish hatred in America, claiming it existed within the Democratic Party but not in the GOP. The Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, has seen his campaign crumble after a CNN report that he called himself a “black NAZI” on a pornographic website. And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Trump ally, has made a string of antisemitic remarks, including recently invoking an anti-Jewish trope by blaming Jews for killing Jesus to explain her vote against a bill meant to address antisemitism.

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“The anti-Jewish hatred has returned even here in America, in our streets, our media and our college campuses and within the ranks of the Democrat Party in particular, not in the Republican Party, I will tell you,” Trump said.

After some applause from his supporters, he added: “The Republican Party has not been infected by this horrible disease. And hopefully it won’t be. It won’t be as long as I’m in charge, I can tell you that.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Michael Gold/Doug Mills
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