Trump Praises "Good Bloodlines" of Notorious Antisemite Henry Ford, Who Called Jews "The World's Problem"
While speaking at a Ford Motor Company plant in Michigan on May 21, Donald Trump praised the “good bloodlines” of Ford founder and notorious antisemite Henry Ford.
Ford, who was honored by Hitler and presented with an award from the Nazi government in 1938, also owned a newspaper. Ford used this newspaper to publish dozens of antisemitic articles and a four-volume book entitled “The International Jew.” An American adaptation of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” “The International Jew” is a virulently antisemitic publication. Baldur von Schirach, the head of the Hitler Youth, cited the book as his introduction to antisemitism, stating at the Nuremberg Trials, “I read it and became anti-Semitic.”
Trump’s reference to “bloodlines” invoked the antisemitic Nuremberg Laws implemented by the Nazis to “protect German blood.” While Trump had used this word before on multiple occasions, using it to praise a supporter of Hitler was particularly alarming. Just as this was not Trump’s first use of the word “bloodlines,” it was also not his first time praising Henry Ford. In August of 2019, Trump referred to Ford as his “inspiration” — something Hitler also said. In his final 2016 campaign ad, Donald Trump echoed sentiments from Ford’s “The International Jew,” while flashing images of prominent Jewish political figures and billionaires on the screen.
Jewish organizations responded to Trump’s comments with outrage: