Here’s what’s happening, with “highlights” of the GOP’s “Genocidal War Celebration” going on this weekend:
BLUF: "Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary for George W. Bush and an RJC board member, perfectly captured the general thinking on Trump’s popularity, despite recent comments that earned widespread criticism when he called Hezbollah “very smart” and asking whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be impeached.
(TP-it’s unfortunate that Samuels wasn’t more specific in what Trump said, when Samuel’s himself quoted that in an earlier article: "Trump further criticized Netanyahu in private circles by comparing him to the "very weak" majority of American Jews who opted to vote for U.S. President Joe Biden over him in the 2020 presidential election.” “Very weak” must be read in its “fascist connotation." I would call this “Fascspeak,” but that’s too close to "ordinary English,” or “Oldspeak,” and not “Newspeak.” As used by the “New Right” of Trump, DeSantis, Hazony, Kevin Roberts, et al., today: https://www.openculture.com/2017/01/george-orwell-explains-how-newspeak-works.html. But continuing below,)
“He shouldn’t have said it. But his record is so strong and so good,” said Fleischer. “It doesn’t change all that he has said previously and all that he has done. His record is unblemished on this. This is a poor attempt by Democrats to try to change the conversation away from an incredible pro-Israel record.”
————
"GOP enemy No.1
"The biggest collective enemy of the weekend, without fail, was “college campuses.” Republicans, already wont to decry any criticism of Israel as antisemitism, have only had their resolve steeled by the unprecedented pro-Palestinian protests that have become prevalent at universities across the country since the start of Israel’s military response following the October 7 Hamas assault. (Much of them by Jewish students, and Jewish Americans, as can be seen in their JVP signs (see “very weak” above).
"While many of these protests undoubtedly veer into antisemitic territory, Republican presidential candidates are using events of recent weeks as proof of concept. (TP-“Proof of concept”- for their own aspirational fascism!) For them, these demonstrations reveal the true antisemitic nature of the progressive movement, empowered by a Democratic Party that has lost its way, with an out-of-touch, feckless president bearing the responsibility.” (And refusing to acknowledge their own antisemitism in denouncing “very weak” Jewish Americans, like Jewish Voice for Peace, as Trump and all of these fanatics do.)
"Where they varied, however, was how far they could take this idea. Ban student activist groups for “providing material support to terrorism”? Applause. Revoke student visas for those marching against the war? Applause. Expel members of Congress for introducing legislation demanding a cease-fire? Applause – but only after booing the very mention of Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
"The events of October 7 provide Republicans with a canvas on which to paint the most hard-line, punitive policies aimed at Palestinians. Candidates elicited cheers when talking about putting terrorists’ heads on spikes, putting the two-state solution to bed for good, withholding aid despite an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza and issuing blanket bans on refugees."
And not to leave out the American Modi-ite:
Quote: "Ramaswamy attempted to clarify – forcefully, passionately and in great detail – the reasons why his policies should not be considered “anti-Israel.” His views, essentially, can be reduced to the idea that Israel should do whatever it wants, however it wants and with U.S. moral backing – but it’s Israel’s task to go it alone.”
(Translation: "Israel should do whatever it wants, however it wants, whenever it wants, to whoever it wants, with no interference of International Law, regardless of how many war crimes they wish to commit! Just like Yoram Hazony calls for in his “Israeli Setter/Fascist Vision!)
Will we see this fascist fanaticism on right-leaning libertarian websites, totally eclipsing anything Biden has called for (which is not a defense of Biden, but a denunciation of both, but recognizing the “gradation” of each)? No, as I learned from 2016 when a liberation I know bemoaned the vast military spending increase of Trump’s, but "immediately brightening” with the knowledge that with that, we also received “30 pieces of silver” in the form of equally vast tax cuts for the Oligarchs, especially of the “Surveillance Industry Complex” of Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.
Pence made clear Republican’s general and total opposition to Biden here:
"Make no mistake about it, President Joe Biden has turned his back on Israel," Pence charged as he addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition's influential annual leadership meeting.
"Biden has "restored funding for the Palestinian Authority, announced his intention to rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal, and now the Biden administration is planning to open a consulate in Jerusalem for the Palestinian people," Pence told the gathering.
"This is an unlawful step and it’s time for Congress to act to deny President Biden from opening a consulate in Jerusalem," Pence added.”
Oh, my! Now we have “moral clarity,” in the fascist Leo Strauss’s meaning of the phrase, to why Biden must be opposed. And Trump “restored,” as supposed “antiwar” libertarians and “Right-wing Peaceniks” work so hard at with their “campaign propaganda by omission,” of denouncing Biden for what he is doing in supporting Israel, while omitting the far worse Republican war crime proponents!
GOP U.S. presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump arriving to speak during the Republican Jewish Coalition annual summit in Las Vegas on Saturday.Credit: Steve Marcus/Reuters
LAS VEGAS – “He’s inevitable.” That’s how one GOP power player at the Republican Jewish Coalition this weekend described Donald Trump’s eventual nomination as the party’s pick to run against Joe Biden in 2024.
Whether that sentiment sounds clear-eyed or fullhearted is almost beside the point. There are undoubtedly several influential Republican Jews for whom the former president’s comments over the years about American Jews and Israel are deeply offensive. But if Trump’s rapturous reception at the Venetian on Saturday proved anything, it’s that there’s no comment too offensive, too vulgar, too close to antisemitism that will offset the reason he is so beloved by this crowd in the first place.
Audience members applauding Donald Trump at the Republican Jewish Coalition confab in Las Vegas on Saturday.Credit: Steve Marcus/Reuters
They’re all familiar to everyone by this point – whether you heard them on his stump speeches or read them on a meme shared on his Truth Social account that was meant to be wishing U.S. Jews a happy new year but could instead generously be described as “menacing.”
For the Republican Jewish megadonors and influencers present at the annual confab – which is quickly becoming an essential annual gathering for Republican politicians attempting to shore up their pro-Israel bona fides – Trump’s record is all that matters. The rest is just window dressing.
“He’s a piece of work, but he’s the most pro-Israel president in history. Him being an asshole won’t change that,” one megadonor present told Haaretz.
Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary for George W. Bush and an RJC board member, perfectly captured the general thinking on Trump’s popularity, despite recent comments that earned widespread criticism when he called Hezbollah “very smart” and asking whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be impeached.
“He shouldn’t have said it. But his record is so strong and so good,” said Fleischer. “It doesn’t change all that he has said previously and all that he has done. His record is unblemished on this. This is a poor attempt by Democrats to try to change the conversation away from an incredible pro-Israel record.”
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Haley greeting the Republican Jewish Coalition crowd on Saturday.Credit: Steve Marcus/Reuters
Nikki Haley, rock star
Trump was the final presidential contender to address the 1,000-plus crowd in Nevada, following the seven challengers who are trailing in his wake – now six after former Vice President Mike Pence’s shock announcement at the confab that he was suspending his campaign. Despite the order of the speeches, selected by random draw, Trump’s specter clearly loomed over everything preceding him.
Each candidate offered their own spin: why they were the most pro-Israel candidate; why they were the one to best combat antisemitism on college campuses; why they were the one to restore America’s strength and deterrence on the world stage; why they were the one to teach the “Hamas caucus” a lesson; why they were the one who would give Israel the most blanket cover to deal with the Palestinians once and for all.
The majority of candidates had support, no doubt. Nikki Haley continues to be a rock star with the RJC crowd, as demonstrated by how donors are speaking with their dollars (as previously revealed by Haaretz). She was also the only candidate to challenge Trump by name.
Ron DeSantis’ reception, meanwhile, may have been more muted than last year – when he was feted as Trump-but-smarter – but he still managed to tell the crowd what it wanted to hear about woke culture and border control. And Tim Scott’s oration and invocation of biblical language had the crowd on its feet several times.
Ron DeSantis. Waving goodbye to the GOP presidential nomination?Credit: Steve Marcus/Reuters
But the two least well-received candidates say more about the state of Republican Jews and the GOP today than any of the others.
One candidate facing an uphill battle with the crowd, Vivek Ramaswamy, best embodies the party’s isolationist wing and used his address to explicitly tackle what he described as “the elephant in the room”: his skepticism of U.S. involvement in Israel’s war with Hamas.
Ramaswamy attempted to clarify – forcefully, passionately and in great detail – the reasons why his policies should not be considered “anti-Israel.” His views, essentially, can be reduced to the idea that Israel should do whatever it wants, however it wants and with U.S. moral backing – but it’s Israel’s task to go it alone.
Vivek Ramaswamy discussing "the elephant in the room" at the RJC summit on Saturday.Credit: Steve Marcus/Reuters
He earned the occasional boo and heckle, but he was still more warmly received than another candidate: ardent Trump critic Chris Christie. For the RJC crowd, however, doubts remain over the entrepreneur.
“People came with an idea in their head as to what they were going to hear. [Ramaswamy] delivered a message that had people thinking, but the jury’s still out as to how it plays out ultimately,” said RJC CEO Matt Brooks.
Christie was mercilessly booed upon taking the stage. He earned passive-at-best applause when talking about the need to combat the isolationism prescribed by Ramaswamy, and extra boos when describing this moment as “too serious for unserious people.”
The RJC crowd agreed with Christie – they just place different emphasis on the “unserious people” who pose the biggest threat.
GOP enemy No.1
The biggest collective enemy of the weekend, without fail, was “college campuses.” Republicans, already wont to decry any criticism of Israel as antisemitism, have only had their resolve steeled by the unprecedented pro-Palestinian protests that have become prevalent at universities across the country since the start of Israel’s military response following the October 7 Hamas assault.
While many of these protests undoubtedly veer into antisemitic territory, Republican presidential candidates are using events of recent weeks as proof of concept. For them, these demonstrations reveal the true antisemitic nature of the progressive movement, empowered by a Democratic Party that has lost its way, with an out-of-touch, feckless president bearing the responsibility.
Pro-Palestinians gathering at Harvard University to show their support for Gaza, at a rally in Massachusetts earlier this month.Credit: Joseph Prezioso / AFP
Where they varied, however, was how far they could take this idea. Ban student activist groups for “providing material support to terrorism”? Applause. Revoke student visas for those marching against the war? Applause. Expel members of Congress for introducing legislation demanding a cease-fire? Applause – but only after booing the very mention of Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
The events of October 7 provide Republicans with a canvas on which to paint the most hard-line, punitive policies aimed at Palestinians. Candidates elicited cheers when talking about putting terrorists’ heads on spikes, putting the two-state solution to bed for good, withholding aid despite an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza and issuing blanket bans on refugees.
One of the landmark pieces of journalism to emerge from Trump’s presidency was Adam Serwer’s 2018 essay in The Atlantic, “The cruelty is the point,” detailing how Trump and his supporters “find community by rejoicing in the suffering of those they hate and fear.”
Quoting New York Mayor Eric Adams, several of the placards at the event stated: “We are NOT alright,” juxtaposed with an Israeli flag. Within the backdrop of this pain, this suffering, this sense of hopelessness, are policies of cruelty – all forged in the image of Trump the inevitable.
