President Trump accused Democrats of being the “anti-Jewish party” after the House passed a broad resolution that failed to specifically name Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for alleged anti-Semitic comments and that didn’t solely condemn anti-Semitism.
“The Democrats have become an anti-Israel party. They’ve become an anti-Jewish party,” Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving to tour areas of Alabama that were devastated by recent tornadoes. “I thought that vote was a disgrace and so does everybody else, if you get an honest answer.”
The president’s comments come after the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday condemning virtually all forms of hate speech and bigotry as a means of responding to Omar’s remarks, which were made on Twitter.
The resolution caused in-fighting and chaos within the new Democratic House majority as they sought to bat down a narrative that a faction of the party is anti-Semitic. But Democrats defending Omar pushed for the resolution to include language condemning statements insulting to Muslims and other groups.
Republicans, meanwhile, said the final resolution was watered down in an effort to avoid condemning Omar and her remarks.
The final version of the measure did not mention Omar by name, but both Republicans and Democrats have condemned what many lawmakers say is a pattern of anti-Semitic tweets from the Minnesota Democrat.
In the end, the resolution’s text also called out white supremacists for targeting “African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, the LGBT community, immigrants, and others with verbal attacks, incitement and violence.”
The resolution also rejects the “perpetuation of anti-Semitic stereotypes in the United States and around the world, including the pernicious myth of dual loyalty and allegiance, especially in the context of support for the United States-Israel alliance,” a reference to Omar’s comments.
[Related: Flashback: House named and shamed Steve King, but not Ilhan Omar]
