Trump And The Jewish Vote (I)
In his op-ed column championing Donald Trump (“Supporting Trump Should Be a No-Brainer for Jews,” April 15), Elliot Resnick neglected to mention Trump’s serial business failures, several of which involved ventures that other businessmen mocked at the time – and indeed Trump was forced to bail out on many of them, often leaving his investors deep in debt.
He also failed to mention Trump’s very short history as a Republican and his very long one as a benefactor of a whole slew of liberal Democrats from Ted Kennedy to Harry Reid to Nancy Pelosi.
Nor did Resnick mention that Trump – who, as a newly minted Republican trying to appeal to the GOP base, is now full of praise for Ronald Reagan – was actually a fierce Reagan critic in the late 1980s, while Reagan was still in office.
Also unmentioned by Resnick is Trump’s unceasing vulgarity. This is a man who hurls deeply personal insults at anyone who disagrees with him and routinely speaks like a potty-mouthed second grader. Is this what we want as a role model for our children and as the face of our country?
And then there’s Trump’s shallow grasp of even the rudiments of domestic and foreign policy. I have witnessed fourteen presidential campaigns dating back to 1964 and have never seen a candidate as clueless as Trump. His ignorance concerning just about every serious issue of the day is nothing less than stunning.
Finally, Trump is the ultimate flip-flopper, not only doing complete turnarounds on his positions in the space of a few months but often within hours. Even on his signature issue – illegal immigration – he’s done a total about-face; just four years ago he lambasted Mitt Romney for what Trump characterized as Romney’s cruel and harsh policy proposals for dealing with illegal immigration – positions that were nowhere near as draconian as the ones Trump now espouses.
I know Elliot Resnick is a serious, intelligent man; I always read his Jewish Press articles and interviews with much enjoyment and respect. I’m afraid, though, that with Trump he’s feeling with his heart rather than thinking with his head.
Arthur Bernstein
(Via E-Mail)
Trump And The Jewish Vote (II)
Elliot Resnick made the case for Trump (somewhat) as a solver of problems but certainly did not show how or why he holds the slightest appeal for a Jewish voter.
Resnick basically assumes Trump’s putative business success would be applied to Israel as well. That’s the extent of the case he made or could have made for Trump regarding Jews.
When candidate Trump first addressed the subject of Israel, he waffled and then offered Israel some relatively tepid support. Ted Cruz, on the other hand, has been unstinting in his support of Israel.
What won me over to Cruz was his reaction to anti-Israel hecklers during a speech he gave in 2014 to a group with ties to Middle Eastern Arab Christians. Cruz was expressing his unequivocal support for Israel when some in the audience began heckling and booing him. At that which point Cruz said, “If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you. Good night, and God bless.” And with that, he walked off the stage.
Samuel Deitel
Brooklyn, NY
Trump And The Jewish Vote (III)
Reading Ben Shapiro’s April 15 op-ed, “Trump Should Be a Nonstarter for Jewish Voters,” created a bit of a conundrum for me. Shapiro is a strong supporter of Israel, as I am. He sees the perfidy, lies, and anti-Semitism of the Palestinians, as I do. Also as I do, he recognizes the uselessness of peace efforts by Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.