Category: Politics

(WASHINGTON) — Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said Sunday that the Biden administration is doing “everything we can to try to prevent this from becoming an all-out war there with Hezbollah across that Lebanese border.”

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah traded fire earlier Sunday morning, with an Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson saying that Hezbollah launched 150 rockets toward Israel, reaching deeper into the country than many previous strikes. In response, the IDF said it was striking “Hezbollah terrorist targets” in Lebanon. The IDF struck 400 targets on Saturday and said that the attacks will only intensify.

The fresh strikes come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledges to “take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes” near the Lebanese border in the north of the country.

Asked by ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos if escalation in the region is inevitable, Kirby said the White House believes a “diplomatic solution” is still possible.

“We believe that there are better ways to try to get those Israeli citizens back in their homes up in the north, and to keep those that are there, there safely, than a war, than an escalation, then opening up a second front there at that border with Lebanon against Hezbollah,” Kirby said.

But Stephanopoulos pushed back, noting it seems like Netanyahu is not listening to the United States’s consistent pleas for de-escalation.

“Look, the prime minister can speak for himself and what — and what — what policy he’s trying to pursue, what operations he’s trying to conduct. We’ll, of course, recognize that the tensions are much higher now than they were even just a few days ago. … But all that does, George, is underscore for us how important it is to try to find a diplomatic solution,” he said.

Hezbollah called the Sunday assault an “initial response” to attacks from Israel earlier this week. In Lebanon and Syria, thousands of people were injured Tuesday by exploding pagers used by Hezbollah members as part of an Israeli operation. Another round of attacks targeting two-way radios used by the group followed on Wednesday. The two attacks killed at least 39 people and injured more than 3,000, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Kirby reiterated that the U.S. was “not involved” in these attacks, but refused to say much more than that, saying he would not “get into the details.”

“I will just say, though, George, that we are watching all of these escalating tensions that have been occurring over the last week or so with great concern, and we want to make sure that we can continue to do everything we can to try to prevent this from becoming an all-out war there with Hezbollah across that Lebanese border,” he said.

A panel of United Nations specialists in international law and human rights has condemned Israel’s use of the exploding devices as illegal “booby traps” with the potential of harming civilians.

Israel had a hand in the manufacturing of the devices with this type of “supply chain interdiction” operation having been planned for at least 15 years, a U.S. intelligence source confirmed to ABC News.

In response to a question about the security of U.S. supply chains, Kirby said that President Joe Biden “has made it clear that he wants the American supply chain to be as resilient and as vibrant as possible.”

The attacks, including Israel’s Friday strike on a Beirut suburb that took out a top Hezbollah commander, signal a new stage of escalation in the Middle East and raise fears of that they will increase the likelihood of an expanded conflict in the region.

How these recent attacks impact the efforts to achieve a cease-fire between Israeli and terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza remains an open question.

Kirby conceded to Stephanopoulos that, “We are not achieving any progress here in the last week to two weeks,” and said that Hamas’ leader, Yahya Sinwar, doesn’t appear to be negotiating in good faith.

“But it doesn’t mean that we’re not trying,” he added.

Kirby’s response follows a report from The Wall Street Journal that U.S. officials believe an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal is unlikely before the end of Biden’s term. When asked Friday about the likelihood of a deal, Biden replied, “A lot of things don’t look realistic until we get them done.”

Stephanopoulos also asked Kirby about alleged election meddling efforts by Iran that U.S. security agencies warned about last week. Kirby said there is “a very robust interagency effort all across the government to deter and to defeat foreign malign actors.

“The American people ought to know that the federal government is working hand in glove with their local and state officials to ensure the safety and security of their ballots and their election day activities,” Kirby said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., the chair of the bipartisan panel investigating the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July and the apparent one last week in Florida, called for more resources and reforms at the Secret Service during a tense time before Election Day.

Speaking to “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos along with Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., the ranking member of the committee, Kelly cited an array of explanations for breakdowns in Secret Service protection in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the first attempt on Trump, including lack of resources and overworked agents, and that it is crucial to remedy them.

“We can redeploy money, and we need to do that. Secret Service works under Homeland Security, but getting more people on the ground, people who are trained, people who are competent, and people who have a nose for all this,” Kelly said. “These guys are exhausted. They have been played out to the very end. Why don’t we look at where we’re spending money, redeploy it, try to get more people on board.”

“This is not a Republican or Democrat issue. This is an American issue. We have to protect those who we have up for election and those that are already serving,” Kelly added. “It’s a very dangerous time for us to be looking at this and thinking this is just the way the world is. It’s not and we cannot accept this as Americans.”

The remarks come as Congress and the Secret Service both scramble to plug any operational holes that allowed a gunman in Butler in July to get off shots at Trump. The urgency of protecting him and other top candidates this election cycle was put into stark relief again just a week ago when the Secret Service thwarted another apparent assassination attempt by a man armed with a rifle outside Trump’s golf course in Florida.

In a report on Butler released Friday, the Secret Service said it failed to secure the line of sight to the former president by not securing the roof on which the shooter had taken up a firing position. It also said law enforcement did not adequately communicate that there was a threat to Trump and cited a “lack of due diligence” in establishing a secure perimeter.

“It’s important that we hold ourselves accountable for the failures of July 13, and that we use the lessons learned to make sure that we do not have another failure like this,” acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said Friday.

In a joint interview with Stephanopoulos, both Kelly and Crow agreed the solution involved both resource redistribution and personnel adjustments.

“You can redeploy funds to where it is that you need them the most. I will say this. Our Secret Service now is trying to guard more people than they’ve ever had to guard in the past,” Kelly said.

“It takes years to create a Secret Service agent. So we have to rely on Department of Defense agents, other federal agencies to cover down and provide some relief to these folks, because one of the issues that we saw in Butler, Pennsylvania, was the over-reliance on local law enforcement. These are fantastic folks. They do really well, but they are not trained and equipped to provide presidential level security,” Crow added.

Both lawmakers also called on Americans to tone down rhetoric around politics amid concerns that the tense atmosphere around November’s election is playing a role in the heightened threat environment.

“Mike is a very conservative Republican. I’m a very proud Democrat,” Crow said. “And what we’re trying to show folks is we can go through an election cycle, we can have fierce and tough debates, and we can show people that we will settle our political differences and debate, but we’re going to come together on an issue that Americans expect us to come together on,” Crow said.

“There is no place in our American society, whether you’re Republican and Democrat for anybody ever to take actions into their own hands and resort to violence,” he said.

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(WASHINGTON) — With fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah intensifying throughout the weekend, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said the U.S. is doing “everything we can to try to prevent this from becoming an all-out war there with Hezbollah across that Lebanese border.”

“We have been involved in extensive and quite assertive diplomacy,” Kirby told ABC’s “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.

Asked if escalation in the region is inevitable, Kirby replied that there are “better ways” to return Israeli citizens back to their homes to avoid a heightened conflict. On cease-fire negotiations, he told Stephanopoulos that “We are not achieving any progress here in the last week to two weeks.”

Kirby also reiterated that the U.S. was “not involved” in Israel’s covert pager and walkie-talkie attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon last week.

This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday she has accepted an offer from CNN for a second presidential debate against former President Donald Trump on Oct. 23.

Harris said in a statement on X that she accepted the offer for the debate and called on her opponent to accept as well.

“I hope @realDonaldTrump will join me,” she said in her post.

The Harris campaign challenged Trump to another debate less than an hour after the Sept. 10 ABC News presidential debate ended. However, Trump said in a statement that he would not participate in another debate against Harris. He has not publicly responded to the CNN offer.

The October CNN debate would have the same rules as the debate in June that the network held between Trump and President Joe Biden, according to Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon. That includes no audience and the microphones would be muted when one candidate isn’t speaking, sources with knowledge of the rules told ABC News.

The debate would take place long after early voting begins in several states across the country. A debate between vice presidential candidates Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance is scheduled for Oct. 1 on CBS.

“It would be unprecedented in modern history for there to just be one general election debate,” O’Malley Dillon said in a statement. adding that “debates offer a unique chance for voters to see the candidates side by side and take stock of their competing visions for America.”

ABC News’ Rick Klein and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Vice President Kamala Harris raised more than triple the amount of funds that former President Donald Trump did in August, giving her team a massive financial advantage as the presidential race enters its final weeks, according to the latest disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee entered the final two full months of the 2024 election cycle with $286 million in the bank, compared to the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee’s $214 million, according to the filings.

This comes after the Harris campaign and the DNC raised $257 million in the month of August, while the Trump campaign and the RNC raised $85 million the same month, filings show.

Earlier this month, both campaigns voluntarily released their total August fundraising figures that included the total figures from their joint fundraising operation with state party committees, revealing a major money edge Harris had maintained for the Democratic Party.

The Harris campaign and the DNC spent $258 million in August, almost exactly the amount they raised, and the Trump campaign and the RNC spent $121 million despite raising $85 million, the latest filings show.

Last month, billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk made his largest federal political contribution to date, giving a total of $289,100 to the NRCC, the committee dedicated to supporting House GOP candidates. He did not make any contribution to the RNC or the NRSC, which focuses on Senate campaigns.

Musk had in the past given $50,000 to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s joint fundraising committee for House GOP, and $36,000 to Obama’s 2012 campaign.

Some top Republican donors who had supported former Gov. Nikki Haley during the Republican primary season are apparently finally coming around in support of Trump, writing big checks to the main super PAC supporting Trump.

Hedge fund manager Paul E. Singer gave $5 million to Make America Great Again Inc., after serving as a vocal supporter of Haley earlier this year, according to filings. Investment banker Warren Stephens, who had given $1 million to a pro-Haley super PAC last year, gave the same amount to the pro-Trump super PAC, according to filings.

Trump’s Save America PAC’s new filing also shows that it spent nearly $2 million on legal bills in August, with one of Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche, receiving more than $1 million of that sum. Other top firms paid by Save America include James Otis Law Group LLC, Habba Madaio & Associates LLP, Rober & Robert PLLC and Richard C. Klugh PA.

Notably, the Trump campaign reported a handful of small security services expenditures paid to Apocalypse Arms and Military Surplus in late July, after an assassination attempt against the former president, the latest report shows. The total amounts to $555.

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(WILMINGTON, N.C.) — Former President Donald Trump is returning to the key battleground state of North Carolina on Saturday amid a major controversy revolving around North Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who the former president had previously supported and called “Martin Luther King on steroids.”

Robinson, the sitting Republican lieutenant governor of North Carolina, allegedly posted inflammatory comments on a message board of a pornography website more than a decade ago, according to a report out Thursday from CNN.

Robinson is not expected to attend Saturday’s rally, though sources caution plans could always change. Trump has not given any indication that he intends to pull his endorsement of Robinson.

The controversy has become a new headache for Trump in the final stretch of the 2024 election cycle.

Trump has campaigned for Robinson multiple times this election cycle, including inviting him to speak at his rallies in North Carolina this year and hosting him at his Mar-a-Lago estate for a fundraiser last year. Also, Trump’s advisers are keenly aware just how important battleground North Carolina is for the former president’s victory in November.

People close to the former president told ABC News that they were bracing for the Robinson story on Thursday. Sources said the campaign was planning to put more distance between Trump and Robinson, but initially did not have plans to call on him to drop out.

“President Trump’s campaign is focused on winning the White House and saving this country. North Carolina is a vital part of that plan,” Trump campaign’s National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a statement to ABC News in response to allegations about Robinson.

When it comes to winning North Carolina, the Trump campaign “will not take our eye off the ball,” Leavitt said.

Trump has yet to make any direct comment on the Robinson controversy. His running mate Sen. JD Vance dodged reporters’ questions about it on Thursday, later, in a post on X, he repeated attacks on Harris as his “comment on Mark Robinson.”

Among the controversial comments Robinson allegedly made online many years ago, according to CNN’s reporting, is one comment where he allegedly referred to himself as a “black NAZI!” CNN reports the comments were made by Robinson between 2008-2012 under the username “minisoldr” on “Nude Africa,” a pornographic website that includes a message board.

ABC News has not confirmed this reporting or the online username alleged to be linked to him.

Robinson has denied he made the comments and claimed the allegations were “salacious tabloid lies.” Defending his character, Robinson vowed to stay in the race as the deadline to drop out as a candidate in North Carolina approached on Thursday.

While Robinson’s alleged past comments online have received a lot of attention, so too have Trump’s past comments in support of Robinson.

“This is Martin Luther King on steroids,” Trump said at a rally in March 2024 while campaigning in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Taking the stage after Robinson’s speech, Trump said, “I told that to Mark. I said, ‘I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.'”

Trump later said he was “outstanding” and set to “be the next governor” of North Carolina.

In December 2023, at a private Mar-a-Lago fundraiser supporting Robinson, Trump said people should “cherish” Robinson like a “fine wine.”

“We have to cherish Mark. We have to cherish him. It’s like a fine wine, because that’s what you have, you have a fine wine,” Trump said in a social media video posted by North Carolina politician Robert Ward, who attended the fundraiser.

Trump further called Robinson an “outstanding person” that he “got to know fairly quickly,” asking donors gathered at his property to donate to Robinson and to get out and vote because he has a “tough opponent.”

“You got to help him financially, because you all people that have a lot of money — I know, rich as hell. So anything you were going to do, quadruple it,” Trump said.

Trump campaigned with Robinson twice at his North Carolina rallies in August. In Asheville, on Aug. 14, Robinson was the final speaker of the pre-programming prior to Trump’s arrival, and Trump called him a “good man” and a “fighter” in a relatively short shout out.

“I want to thank a very good man, and he’s in there fighting,” Trump said about Robinson. “… We know he’s a fighter. The next governor of North Carolina, Mark Robinson. Thanks, Mark. This is Mrs. Robinson. Thank you. They’re a great, great couple. Thank you both.”

In Asheboro, on Aug. 21, Robinson did not speak on stage, but Trump gave him a shout out during his speech and briefly brought him on stage.

The Harris campaign has been capitalizing on Trump and Robinson’s relationship on social media, firing off a series of posts featuring Trump’s praising past comments on Robinson and calling them “best friends.”

On Friday, the Harris campaign released a new ad that seeks to tie Trump to Robinson, saying “they’re both wrong for North Carolina.”

The ad, which will air in North Carolina, features past clips of Trump praising Robinson. The 30-second spot also highlights Robinson’s hard-line comments on abortion.

The ad does not include the alleged comments and conduct outlined in CNN’s article.

ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — First lady Jill Biden welcomed the cast of “The West Wing” to the White House Friday, in celebration of the television show’s 25th anniversary.

“Your work inspired so many to step forward and serve our country, maybe even some of the people here today working in Congress, at nonprofits, or on political campaigns, or at the White House,” the first lady said, calling that effect the “power of storytelling.”

“The West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin explained how they would occasionally hear about someone who was inspired to enter public service because of the show.

“That’s something that 25 years ago this week, none of us could have foreseen or even dared to hope for,” he said.

He also referred to Biden withdrawing from the presidential race in July as a “’West Wing’ moment.”

“Over the years, I’ve noticed that during times of peak political tension, pundits will warn us not to expect a ‘West Wing’ moment. They mean not to expect a selfless act of statesmanship, not to expect anyone to put country first,” Sorkin said. “But the fact is, ‘West Wing’ moments do happen, and Dr. Biden, we saw proof of that on the morning of July 21.”

Sorkin was also joined at Friday’s event by the show’s cast members, including actor Martin Sheen, who referred to his character of President Jed Bartlet as a “wonderful character that changed [his] life.”

“The West Wing” debuted on Sept. 22, 1999 and ran for seven seasons. The political drama’s many accolades include 26 Emmy Awards out of 95 nominations, as well as two Golden Globe Awards and two consecutive Peabody Awards.

Bradley Whitford, who played White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the show, was absent from Friday’s event but expressed his regret in a lengthy social media post for missing it, as well as Monday’s Emmy Awards, during which “The West Wing” stars Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Dulé Hill, Janel Moloney and Richard Schiff present the Emmy for Best Drama Series.

“I’m in Budapest on another White House set pretending to work for another administration. (I know. I need to work on my range),” Whitford quipped on X.

“So what’s next? To celebrate our anniversary, I hope you will check your voter registration and make a plan to vote!!!” he concluded.

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(NEW YORK) — New York Magazine placed its Washington correspondent, Olivia Nuzzi, on leave this week after it learned she allegedly “had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign,” the outlet said in a statement.

According to the news outlet Status, the relationship was allegedly with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent candidate who suspended his campaign last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

In its statement, New York Magazine did not name Kennedy, and a spokeswoman for the outlet did not respond to an ABC News request to confirm that he is in fact the subject in question.

But in statements, neither Nuzzi nor a Kennedy representative denied Status’ reporting that Kennedy was involved.

“Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,” Nuzzi said in a statement. “During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source. The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”

Stefanie Spear, a Kennedy spokeswoman, told ABC News in a statement, “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”

Spear did not respond to a follow-up question about whether Kennedy denies the allegation of a romantic relationship.

A profile by Nuzzi of Kennedy, in which she hiked with the candidate near his southern California home, published in November.

At the time, Kennedy had recently dropped his Democratic presidential bid to run as an independent and was polling promisingly in swing states.

But a cash shortage and a wave of unflattering headlines blunted his campaign.

Kennedy is married to the actress Cheryl Hines, who has not commented publicly on the alleged relationship.

Nuzzi’s ex-fiancée, Ryan Lizza, Politico’s Chief Washington Correspondent, wrote in the Friday’s “Playbook” newsletter, “Because of my connection to this story through my ex-fiancee, my editors and I have agreed that I won’t be involved in any coverage of Kennedy in Playbook or elsewhere at POLITICO.”

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(ATLANTA) — The Republican-led Georgia State Election Board on Friday passed a major rule change just a few weeks before the November election requiring the hand-counting of all ballots, prompting fears from both sides of the aisle of potential long delays in the reporting of election results.

The rule, passed 3-2 with the Republican members leading the way, now requires the hand counting of ballots at each precinct in addition to the customary machine count.

Under the new rule, poll workers would need to unseal and remove ballots from the machine scanners and three poll officers would need to independently hand count the total number of ballots in stacks, arriving at the same total.

Proponents of the rule change downplayed fears of delays and concerns about breaks in chains of custody, during a heating hearing and argued the change would bring more integrity and transparency to the state’s election procedures.

“You’re pulling them out of a pile and you’re strictly going to go to the corner and you’re just going to count those ballots. Now, how difficult is that? That is not a big deal. I mean, in my opinion, that’s not a big deal,” Sharlene Alexander, who helped present the measure to the board, said.

Former President Donald Trump has publicly praised the push from the Republican members to implement additional measures. He continues to claim fraud in the 2020 election and that he won Georgia without any legitimate evidence.

During an Atlanta rally in August, Trump called the Republican board members who have pushed the changes “pit bulls fighting for victory.”

He also specifically praised the proposal that would require the independent verification of ballots from three different election workers, asking the crowd, “Who could be against that? Who could be against it?”

“My last comment is this vote, this board voted to have on the record that we’ll be going against the advice of our legal counsel by voting in the affirmative. We will have no further discussion,” Chairman John Fervier, who was appointed Chair by Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, said Friday as he strongly criticized the board’s decision.

Many state officials have already raised concerns about the feasibility and legality of the last-minute changes, and during the meeting election workers spoke up about the burdens this rule change would have on election workers.

“What I do in my county is not what my neighboring county does. They do not have the resources to do that. So, to say that it would not cause delays on election night is not true or accurate. It will cause delays for certain counties,” Rebecca England, an election worker from Greene County, said during a discussion about the burden the change would put on election officials.

The election board rejected a proposal that would have required hand-counting during early voting, which begins on Oct. 15.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, opposed the rule changes and his office issued a warning to the board ahead of today’s meeting, specifically laying out how approving the hand-counting proposal likely violates state law warned the board that it may not be lawful.

“There are thus no provisions in the statutes cited in support of these proposed rules that permit counting the number of ballots by hand at the precinct level prior to delivery to the election superintendent for tabulation,” his office wrote in a letter to the election board Thursday.

“Accordingly, these proposed rules are not tethered to any statute- — and are, therefore, likely the precise type of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do,” the letter continued.

An attorney for Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, who was allegedly pressured by Former President Donald Trump not to certify the 2020 election, also sent a letter to the board warning the board not to go through with the changes at such a late stage.

While raising concerns about potential delays, Raffensperger assured voters that he “fully anticipate[s]” election results will be certified by Nov. 12, in compliance with state law.

Vice President Kamala Harris and other groups have filed lawsuits against the changes contending that they will cause disruptions to the certification process.

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(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and Jewish advocacy groups on Friday forcefully criticized what they called former President Donald Trump’s “dangerous” and “antisemitic” comments saying Jewish voters would be to blame if he lost the presidential election.

“I’ll put it to you very simply and as gently as I can: I wasn’t treated properly by the voters who happen to be Jewish,” Trump said at an event Thursday night in Washington that was meant to highlight antisemitism. “I don’t know. Do they know what the hell is happening if I don’t win this election? And the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens, because at 40% that means 60% of the people are voting for the enemy.”

The backlash was fierce.

“Donald Trump is resorting to the oldest antisemitic tropes in the book because he’s weak and can’t stand the fact that the majority of America is going to reject him in November. But we know that words like these can have dangerous consequences,” Harris campaign national security spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said in a statement. “As Trump has proven, including over the past few weeks with his lies about Springfield, Ohio, he will cling to fearmongering and intimidation, no matter the cost.”

Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, have in recent days pushed the baseless claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, most of whom are legally there, of stealing and eating neighbors’ pets — an accusation roundly refuted by local officials.

“When Donald Trump loses this election, it will be because Americans from all faiths, ethnicities, and backgrounds came together to turn the page on the divisiveness he demonstrates every day,” Finkelstein added.

Harris’ husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish himself, wrote on X Friday that Jewish Americans would not be “intimidated” by Trump’s attacks. “Last night, Donald Trump once again fanned the flames of antisemitism by trafficking in tropes blaming and scapegoating Jews. He even did it at an event purporting to fight antisemitism, no less,” Emhoff wrote. “This is dangerous and must be condemned. We will not be intimidated and will continue to live openly, proudly, and without fear as Jews.”

Non-partisan Jewish advocacy organizations also vocalized their strong opposition to Trump’s comment.

“Whoever a majority of the Jewish community votes for, Jews — roughly 2 percent of the U.S. population — cannot and should not be blamed for the outcome of the election,” the American Jewish Committee wrote in a statement. “Setting up anyone to say, ‘we lost because of the Jews’ is outrageous and dangerous. Thousands of years of history have shown that scapegoating Jews can lead to antisemitic hate and violence.”

Some Jewish voters will vote for Harris, and some will vote for Trump, the AJC said, adding that “None of us, by supporting the candidate we choose, is ‘voting for the enemy.'”

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblat wrote on social media that Trump’s comments contradicted the message of the antisemitic event at which he was speaking and can make it worse for Jewish Americans.

“Preemptively blaming American Jews for your potential election loss does zero to help American Jews. It increases their sense of alienation in a moment of vulnerability when right-wing extremists and left-wing antizionists continually demonize and slander Jews,” Greenblat wrote “Let’s be clear, this speech likely will spark more hostility and further inflame an already bad situation.”

Amy Spitalnick, who leads the progressive-leaning Jewish Council for Public Affairs, encouraged more people to join growing chorus slamming Trump’s comment.

“Last night, Trump preemptively blamed the Jews for his possible electoral loss, after spending months calling Jews who don’t support him ‘crazy’ & ‘disloyal.’ Speaking out against this isn’t about partisan politics — it’s about fundamental Jewish safety,” Spitalnick wrote. “We need everyone to do so.”

Trump did receive backing from some on the political right. The Republican Jewish Coalition, a major Jewish political group that has endorsed Trump, praised Trump for his remarks on combatting antisemitism.

Matt Brooks, the CEO of the organization, told ABC News in a phone interview that he thought the comments about Jewish voters and the election were about motivating Jewish voters, and that Democratic claims otherwise are a deflection.

“I think what it was is the president trying to motivate the Jewish community,” Brooks said, adding that Trump “realizes what’s at stake” for American Jews, who feel unsafe in America due to a rise in antisemitism. (Brooks pointed to intimidation faced by Jewish students on college campuses as one example.)

“This is an absolute distraction, to deflect that [Trump] made many significant and important contributions to the Jewish community,” Brooks said.

He added that Trump was also indicating how close of an election it may be in battleground states, where given the likely slim margin, “if the Jewish vote doesn’t move in his favor, it may cost him the election.”

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