For the first time, I see why reasonable people will vote for Donald Trump
Donald Trump
I will never forget the crushing sense of disbelief, horror and dread the night that Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. The bad feelings did not diminish over the course of his term in office, even as many in the same anti-woke, pro-free-speech stable as me began to caveat their objections to the buffoonish talk-show lout who was now the president of the United States.
Eventually, many in this crowd became veritable cheerleaders for Trump. The more sober-minded among them pointed to his tough-guy approach to America’s enemies, which saw him shake hands with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, scrap the dangerous Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran, and move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Others seemed to enjoy his destruction of longstanding political norms – including his denial of the results of the 2020 presidential election.
I remain profoundly opposed to the yellow-headed loudmouth – even as I have to admit that he achieved some significant political coups while president, and he may do so again were he to return to power.
Indeed, as we face what is surely the grimmest American election in generations, I find myself able to understand, for the first time, why some perfectly good, reasonable people might decide to vote for Trump. He is a ludicrous and, to me, a frightening figure to be in the running for a second pass at leading the free world – but at least, beyond a worrying question over whether he’ll go soft on Putin, his foreign policy won’t revolve around appeasing the West’s mortal enemies.
Joe Biden’s approach towards Israel and the Middle East has been particularly dangerous, and with Left-wing anti-Semitic rhetoric in relation to the campaign in Gaza intensifying and Jews facing threats on all fronts, pollsters and pundits are beginning to suggest that a small but significant Jewish vote – important in states like Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona – may be swinging Trumpwards. By 2020, as compared to 2016, Trump’s appeal was growing among Jewish voters, but since October 7 it appears to have increased yet further.
Biden once pledged “ironclad” support for Israel, but he has since shifted to a position apparently designed to pander to the pro-Palestinian mob (who absurdly call him “genocide Joe”, despite the cautiousness of his support for Jerusalem so far).
From his endless threats and chastisements of Israel, to his disgraceful warning that he could cut off military aid at Israelis’ hour of greatest need, it’s a terrifying picture.
His inner-circle appointments are hardly better. He placed Maher Bitar on the National Security Council. According to the Jewish News Syndicate, Bitar was a leader of Students for Justice in Palestine, a group that organised a “boycott, divestment and sanctions” programme against Israel – hardly the most reassuring appointment for US intelligence.
Most recently, we have watched the grotesque performance of American college students endorsing Palestinian “resistance” carried out against Jews by Hamas rapists and murderers.
These students’ apparent worship of violence and anti-Semitism has shocked decent people to the core. But rather than stand firm, influential representatives of Biden’s party have actually appeared to encourage them. Indeed, the Democrats increasingly seem to be under the influence of viciously anti-Israel activists and members of Congress.
Only a small fraction of American undergraduates participated in this evil nonsense or even regard the US’s relations with Israel as an important issue. It might be argued, therefore, that the horrific spectacle on campuses can be ignored.
To Jews, however, that is not an option. It is obvious, thanks to the painful lessons of history, that the question of how America approaches Israel is intimately tied to our fate, wherever we are. The United States has always had isolationist tendencies, but those tendencies have never coincided with so much homegrown sympathy for terrorism and hatred of Israel.
Thus when Trump says that “Biden has totally lost control of the Israel situation”, as he did last month, and suggests that Jews who vote for Biden “should have their head examined”, one has to admit he has a point.
Even moderates can see this. Mark Penn, former Bill Clinton campaign supremo and now a highly-respected pollster, wrote recently in the New York Times: “Mr Biden’s campaign has fundamentally miscalculated on Israel… [many of his potential voters] back our ally Israel unreservedly and, I believe, want to see a president who would put maximum pressure on Hamas to release hostages ... The more Mr Biden has pandered to the Left by softening his support of Israel, the weaker he looks, and the more his foreign policy ratings have declined.”
Polling suggests that, among most voters, housing, the cost of living, healthcare and the everyday issues affecting people come top of the list of concerns. But if the United States allows the evil power-mongers in the new anti-Western axis – China, Russia, Iran, North Korea – to get away with the murder they so fervently desire, there won’t be a life in the West worth defending anymore.
Since October 7, Jews have been forced to see this. For a growing number, this translates into a sense that, next to Biden, Trump may be more capable not just of the fighting talk but of the fighting actions required to keep the world order under American control – and therefore safe for “Jews and non-Jews alike.
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