the national interest

Trump Says Jews Should Love Him Because He’s Almost Literally Jesus

Donald Trump, King of the Jews. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump has been vexed recently by the refusal of the majority of the American Jewish community to support him. For insight into the mysterious paradox of why a traditionally liberal social minority remains unenthusiastic about his brand of blood-and-soil authoritarian demagoguery, he has turned to Wayne Allyn Root.

Wayne Allyn Root is a Christian who converted from Judaism as well as a notorious conspiracy theorist and, naturally, a huge Trump fan. And by huge, I mean, practically compares Trump to Jesus:

If the president is seeking more insight into why Jews have failed to jump onto the Trump train, this tweetstorm itself supplies more evidence. Root is taking the traditional complaint that Christians make against Jews — Why are you stiff-necked people forsaking your Lord and Savior? — and substituting Trump himself for the role of the Messiah.

The traditional Trumpist overture to Jews is that Trump might go after all the other minority groups but definitely won’t turn on Jews. That approach having failed to yield dividends, he is now turning to castigating them for failing to worship the true King of the Jews and veritable Second Coming of God.

“They don’t even know what they’re doing or saying anymore” is not usually a good pitch for any constituency. And where Jews specifically are concerned, the whole “Second Coming” thing remains a bit of a sensitive area.

Trump: Why Don’t Jews Love Me, I’m Almost Literally Jesus