Jews, Catholics warn against Donald Trump’s latest loyalty test for religious voters

Former President Donald Trump He recently re-released his loyalty test for religious Americans, declaring that he could best protect their freedoms, while blaming people who previously held certain beliefs if he lost November’s presidential election.

Jewry And Catholics can vote for him and pass the test, but says those who don’t “need to have their heads examined.” If he loses, Trump added, “the Jewish people will have a big share in that loss.”

Among the Jewish leaders appalled by Trump’s remarks was Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, an umbrella group that includes more than 800 Reform synagogues in North America.

“Your words preemptively blaming Jews for your potential election loss are on par with thousands of years of antisemitic lies about Jewish power,” Jacobs said in a social media post. “It targets American Jews. And that makes you an ally of those who seek to harm us, not of our vulnerable community. Stop.”

Trump’s speeches over the years have sought to separate “us” and “them” messages; But tying these themes to specific religious Americans who oppose him is out of line and even dangerous, according to rhetoric experts, religious leaders and academics.

“Non-Jews should not express public views about what is and is not good about Judaism, and non-Catholics should not express public views about what is and is not good about Catholicism,” said Steven Millies, a professor of public theology. Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

“Not only is it bad form, it’s also an ignorant waste of oxygen.”

Asked to respond to criticism from Jewish leaders, Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt sent statements from herself and some of Trump’s Jewish supporters. The statements did not directly address possible Jewish blame for Trump’s defeat; Rather, they portrayed Trump as a stronger supporter of Israel than President Joe Biden and Trump’s Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Jewish Americans and Jewish leaders around the world recognize that President Trump has done more for them and the State of Israel than any President in history,” Leavitt said via email. “The bottom line is that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden are bowing to left-wing extremists and terrorists, while President Trump will protect American Jews and prioritize American citizens.”

Trump’s latest provocative comments came in four days. His warnings about Jewish voters appeared in speeches to Jewish donors and the Israeli-American Council in Washington on September 19. His remarks about Catholics came in a post on Truth Social on September 22.

Matthew Boedy, who studies religious rhetoric as a professor at the University of North Georgia, said Trump has embraced the spiritual warfare rhetoric common in some Christian circles.

“Those who gave him this discourse saw the devil or evil as an enemy. This is dangerous for democracy and religion, Boedy said via email, adding, “The enemy now is anyone who gets in his way – Jew, Christian, Muslim.”

“Trump is always making his religious followers, especially Christians, choose. Protestant Boedy said they should choose it over pluralism, morality and evangelism.

“If God is already on your side theologically, it’s not too far a step to say that he should be on your side politically, too. This is nothing new for American politics,” Boedy said. “Trump is only making this distinction advantageous for himself. It advances what’s there, but it also adds its own weight to it. “It makes the situation worse.”

David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Jesuit-run Fordham University, said in past elections, “It was political madness for a non-Catholic like Trump to present himself as the savior of Catholics or Jews.”

“But this is Trump, and conservatives who would attack a Democrat for using such language are cheering for the Republican nominee,” Gibson added in an email. “There are many reasons, the most obvious being that they like Trump more than they like listening to their own church.”

Gibson also suggested that Trump’s hardline stance on immigration, which has included calls for mass deportations, contradicts Catholic teaching.

“Catholics who have listened to the increasingly Nativistic rhetoric on immigration from Trump and even his running mate, J.D. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, should have their hearts examined if they support this,” Gibson said.

Professor Jennifer Mercieca, a historian of American political rhetoric at Texas A&M University, said typical politicians try to connect with voters based on shared policy beliefs, not by demanding religious allegiance.