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Trump calls Jews who vote for Mamdani ‘stupid’
President Donald Trump on Tuesday called Jewish New Yorkers who vote for Zohran Mamdani “stupid.” Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist and critic of Israel, is the frontrunner in the race for mayor of New York City, home to the largest concentration of Jews in the U.S. If he wins, Mamdani would be the first Muslim to hold the office.
“Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social, as New Yorkers were heading to the ballot box.
Trump on Monday night endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani. “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice,” Trump wrote. Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after being accused of sexually harassing multiple women while in office. He denied those allegations.
Asked Tuesday about Trump’s assertion that Jews would be “stupid” to vote for his opponent , Cuomo replied: “I don’t know if that’s true.” Nearby, a supporter told Cuomo that the “God of Israel” would help him win, and that people should “not vote for the terrorist.” A Quinnipiac poll released last week found Cuomo leading Mamdani among Jewish voters, 60 percent to 16 percent.
Cuomo asked if he agrees with Trump’s statement this morning that “any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed Jew hater, is a stupid person”?
Cuomo: “I don’t know if that’s true.” pic.twitter.com/Zi9YIE5IEh
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) November 4, 2025
A familiar pattern
Trump’s remarks were the latest in a yearslong pattern in which he has equated Jewish identity with political allegiance to him and to Israel, casting dissenters as disloyal or misguided. Since his first term, Trump has frequently questioned why most American Jews vote Democratic, describing it as a betrayal of faith or common sense.
In 2019, he labeled Jewish Democrats “disloyal” and “weak.” During his 2024 campaign, he intensified his attacks, saying that “any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion” and should be “ashamed of themselves.” At a fundraiser that spring, he went further: “Any Jewish person who votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined.”
After President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Kamala Harris replaced him on the Democratic ticket, Trump repeated the line. “If anybody I know is Jewish and they would vote for Kamala over me, they should have their head examined,” he said. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.
In a September 2024 speech, Trump warned that Jews would “have a lot to do with a loss” if he were defeated, and likened the moment to the months before the Holocaust. “You have to defeat Kamala Harris more than any other people on Earth,” he told the audience, and then conflated Israeli and American Jews. “Israel, I believe, has to defeat her.”
Jewish Americans have remained one of the most reliably Democratic constituencies in American politics. In the 2024 election, 71 percent voted for Harris and 26 percent for Trump, according to a post-election survey.
Trump’s strategy of tying Jewish support to a loyalty test for Israel has found its most receptive audience among Orthodox and conservative voters. But his repeated suggestions that Jewish voters are collectively responsible for U.S.–Israel relations, or for his own electoral fate, have previously alarmed many Jewish leaders. The statements have been criticized for perpetuating antisemitic notions of American Jews’ “dual loyalty” to Israel.
Mamdani, for his part, has often had to defend himself against allegations of antisemitism for: refusing to outright condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada;” reiterating support for Palestinians in his statement on the Gaza ceasefire; vowing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York; and saying he doesn’t recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
He’s also drawn criticism from pro-Israel groups for his support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and praise from progressives who see him as part of a generational shift in Democratic politics. His ascendancy has divided Jews across the country while simultaneously building a coalition of Jewish New Yorkers who support him.
The Mamdani campaign did not immediately respond to Trump’s comments.
Jacob Kornbluh and Louis Keene contributed to this article.
The post Trump calls Jews who vote for Mamdani ‘stupid’ appeared first on The Forward.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’
Rep Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, on Sunday likened the Trump administration’s immigration rhetoric to Nazi depictions of Jews.
“It reminds me of the way the Nazis described Jewish people in Germany,” Omar said in an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, commenting on a social media post by Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, in which he suggested that “migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.” Miller, who is Jewish, is the architect of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
Omar called Miller’s comments “white supremist rhetoric” and also drew parallels between his characterization of migrants seeking refuge in the U.S. to how Jews were demonized and treated when they fled Nazi-era Germany. “As we know, there have been many immigrants who have tried to come to the United States who have turned back, you know, one of them being Jewish immigrants,” she said.
Now serving as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Miller is central to the White House’s plans for mass deportations and expanded barriers to asylum. During Trump’s first term, Miller led the implementation of the so-called Muslim travel ban in 2017, which barred entry to the U.S. for individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and pushed to further reduce a longtime refugee program.
Rep. Ilhan Omar: “When I think about Stephen Miller and his white supremacist rhetoric, it reminds me of the way the Nazis described Jewish people in Germany.” pic.twitter.com/GAjIMqFq26
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 7, 2025
Miller’s comments echoed similar rhetoric by Trump after an Afghan refugee was accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last month, killing one.
Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting last week that Somali immigrants are “garbage” and that he wanted them to be sent “back to where they came from.” The president also singled out Omar, a Somali native who represents Minnesota’s large Somali-American community. “She should be thrown the hell out of our country,” Trump said.
In the Sunday interview, Omar called Trump’s remarks “completely disgusting” and accused him of having “an unhealthy obsession” with her and the Somali community. “This kind of hateful rhetoric and this level of dehumanizing can lead to dangerous actions by people who listen to the president,” she said.
The post Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’ appeared first on The Forward.
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Nigeria Seeks French Help to Combat Insecurity, Macron Says
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has sought more help from France to fight widespread violence in the north of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, weeks after the United States threatened to intervene to protect Nigeria’s Christians.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has witnessed an upsurge in attacks in volatile northern areas in the past month, including mass kidnappings from schools and a church.
US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians. The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
Macron said he had a phone call with Tinubu on Sunday, where he conveyed France’s support to Nigeria as it grapples with several security challenges, “particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”
“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” Macron said in a post on X.
Macron did not say what help would be offered by France, which has withdrawn its troops from West and Central Africa and plans to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance.
Nigeria is grappling with a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest and deadly clashes between largely Muslim cattle herders and mostly Christian farmers in the central parts of the country, stretching its security forces.
Washington said last month that it was considering actions such as sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to compel Nigeria to better protect its Christian communities.
The Nigerian government has said it welcomes help to fight insecurity as long as its sovereignty is respected. France has previously supported efforts to curtail the actions of armed groups, the US has shared intelligence and sold arms, including fighter jets, and Britain has trained Nigerian troops.
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Netanyahu Says He Will Not Quit Politics if He Receives a Pardon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would not retire from politics if he receives a pardon from the country’s president in his years-long corruption trial.
Asked by a reporter if planned on retiring from political life if he receives a pardon, Netanyahu replied: “no”.
Netanyahu last month asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon, with lawyers for the prime minister arguing that frequent court appearances were hindering Netanyahu’s ability to govern and that a pardon would be good for the country.
Pardons in Israel have typically been granted only after legal proceedings have concluded and the accused has been convicted. There is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in response to the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and his lawyers have said that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings, if concluded, would result in a complete acquittal.
US President Donald Trump wrote to Herzog, before Netanyahu made his request, urging the Israeli president to consider granting the prime minister a pardon.
Some Israeli opposition politicians have argued that any pardon should be conditional on Netanyahu retiring from politics and admitting guilt. Others have said the prime minister must first call national elections, which are due by October 2026.