US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has used Israel’s war on Gaza to take a new swipe at his political rivals, calling Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish, “a member of Hamas” on Wednesday.
Appearing on the Hugh Hewitt Show as the Democratic National Convention was taking place, Trump said, “Israel’s being hurt very badly by the Democrats, they’re making it very hard for Israel to win.”
“The pressure that’s being put on them by Biden and Schumer, who’s frankly, you know, Schumer is, like is he a member of Hamas? Is he a Palestinian? ” Trump added.
This was not the first time that Trump had used the word “Palestinian” as a political slur.
Last June he said that Schumer had “become like a Palestinian” while speaking to Fox News, while later that month he called current US President Joe Biden a “bad Palestinian” during their presidential debate before Biden withdrew from the 2024 elections.
Trump’s use of “Palestinian” as an insult drew widespread condemnation, with journalist Mehdi Hassan saying that Trump’s comments had “shown that brazen anti-Palestinian racism has been normalized in America”.
During his appearance on the Hugh Hewitt Show, Trump once again called on Israel to “finish the job” in Gaza.
Israel’s indiscriminate war on the territory has killed at least 40,265 people and left the Gaza Strip in ruins, with schools, homes and hospitals targeted.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continuously stalled negotiations to end the war, vowing to “eliminate” Hamas, the Palestinian group which rules Gaza and launched a surprise attack on Israel last October.
Schumer is the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the history of the US and has expressed strong support for Israel in the past. He has however been critical of Netanyahu, calling in March for him to be replaced.
Last Tuesday, before Trump made his remarks, Schumer accused him of “peddling antisemitic stereotypes” pointing out that he had previously hosted Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and controversial rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at his Mar-a Lago mansion.
