RNC Day Four: Trump Gives Acceptance Speech with Antisemitic Dog Whistles
The Republican National Convention came to a close with a display of authoritarianism, following days of antisemitic and white nationalist incidents. In an unprecedented illegal act, the final day was held at the White House. Multiple far-right figures were in attendance, including QAnon conspiracy theorist, Marjorie Taylor Greene. The most notable incidents of antisemitism from the fourth and final day of the RNC are detailed below:
DONALD TRUMP
Trump’s acceptance speech was packed with racist, antisemitic rhetoric and dangerous dog-whistles to his white nationalist supporters. He made two comments in particular that relied on antisemitic tropes in order to fear-monger about the Democratic Party.
Trump warned of a “Biden-Bernie manifesto”, which he reminded the audience was “co-authored with far left Senator, crazy Bernie Sanders” and “calls for suspending for removals of illegal aliens, implementing nationwide catch and release, and providing illegal aliens with free taxpayer funded lawyers.” (02:35:01). This line promoted the antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jews are conspiring to bring non-white and non-Christian immigrants into the United States — the very theory that motivated the Tree of Life shooter. It also continues the Republican Party’s continued claim that Joe Biden is the “puppet” of Bernie Sanders —a trope that the the official GOP website used in July 2020. Trump used the exact phrase “Bernie-Biden manifesto,” which is clearly designed to conjure up an association with the Communist Manifesto, multiple times in his speech.
Trump also referred to Sanders as a “wild-eyed Marxist” in his speech. In addition to being inaccurate (Sanders is a Democratic Socialist, not a Marxist), this line also invoked Red Scare-era tropes about Jewish communists, as well as the antisemitic dog whistle “cultural marxism.”
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK
Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has a history of antisemitism: He called himself “more of a Jew” than George Soros; and, just ten days before the RNC, Giuliani railed against Soros once more, claiming the Jewish donor had a “sick background.” Giuliani was one of the speakers on the final day of the RNC.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER
McCarthy, who in 2018 suggested that Jewish donors were trying to “buy” the midterm elections, spoke briefly on the fourth day of the RNC.
FRANKLIN GRAHAM, PRESIDENT OF SAMARITAN’S PURSE
Graham, an evangelical Christian and supporter of Trump’s gave the opening prayer on the final day of the RNC. Graham made headlines in early 2020 when he tweeted that support was needed at the overflow field hospital his organization had set up for COVID-19 patients in Central Park, specifically asking for the presence of anyone who was a “Christian doctor, nurse, paramedic, or other medical professional.”
JA’RON SMITH, ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR DOMESTIC POLICY
Smith, a longtime member of the Trump administration, claimed in his speech that “Donald Trump led the crusade to allow Blacks and Jews into private clubs and resorts.” (57:38) This same refrain was used in February of 2020 by Trump’s Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Ben Carson, in an attempt to defend Trump from accusations of racism. Smith likely repeated the phrase for the same reason, but an embellished anecdote does not compensate for Trump’s years of antisemitism and decades of anti-Blackness.