In a large dose of political delusion, Florida fixture Debbie Wasserman Schultz has come forward to declare President Trump the man to blame for the country’s recent spate of anti-Semitism.
Yes. it's all the president's fault.
"He is the worst perpetrator of purveying anti-Semitism,” she recently said.
A desperate attempt at deflection for the Weston congresswoman.
The Democratic Party has had a tough go of things since it took over the House of Representatives. In just two months in power Dems have had a number of freshman representatives caught up in verbal controversies, most involving anti-Semitic remarks. As a body with the stated aim of combating President Trump, they've been noticeably stalled in that mission by the need to address their internal issues.
The Democratic leadership first had to deal with critical questions involving Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and even occasionally Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being granted committee appointments. Then the Women’s March, which the Democratic Party has pledged alliance with in the past, fractured as a result of mounting anti-Semitism exposed among its leadership. Most recently, the House Dems had to call a resolution to directly address the continuing comments from Omar -- only to then neuter the resolution and become incapable of even naming her in the condemnation.
Following that inactivity over the weekend, the president addressed a group of RNC donors at Mar-a-Lago. In the speech he was reported to have said to the group (it was a media blackout event), “The Democrats hate Jewish people.” Trump also speculated about how popular he was in Israel, and wondered why any Jewish voters would back a Democratic candidate.
In response to these reported comments, former DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz lashed out. She declared that President Trump “has repeatedly and intentionally” been the source of anti-Semitic remarks, and even stated:
"He is a hypocrite. He has perpetuated anti-Semitism himself, and now what he is doing is even worse. He is, instead of trying to use the platform that he has to heal the situation and calm the waters and bring people together, he’s dangerously weaponizing anti-Semitism as a political bludgeon, and that jeopardizes Jewish lives."
Wasserman Schultz did provide some examples of her charge, yet they defy her own words. "The president continues to use dog whistles and train whistles to perpetuate anti-Semitism,” was her claim, and then rattled off her proof. She cited examples of things spoken during his presidential campaign -- interpreted words from three years ago to somehow show how he “continues” to do this.
She also invoked the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, attributing that to the president. But she displays some abject ignorance on the matter. Robert Bowers, the murderer who shot up the Tree of Life synagogue despised President Trump. He declared that part of his rationale for the shooting was that he viewed the president as too sympathetic to Israel, and he felt the need to take action.
A curiosity in Wasserman Schultz's current outrage is that she has already acknowledged the anti-Semitism problem within her own ranks. Back in January she voiced her disapproval of the Women’s March leadership, making the announcement she would avoid the formal gathering. Then, with repeated anti-Semitic remarks in recent weeks by a number of members from her own party, she develops a blindspot.
Instead, she levels the charge of intolerance towards Jews at the president, who has immediate family members who are Jewish, has worked in tandem with the state of Israel, and has repeatedly stood in support of those of the Hebrew faith. The striving to avoid accountability within Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s own party is stark, and it will do little to alleviate responsibility where it rests.
Brad Slager, a Fort Lauderdale freelance writer, wrote this story exclusively for Sunshine State News. He writes on politics and the entertainment industry and his stories appear in such publications as RedState and The Federalist.
