Trump says Jewish people who vote for Democrats 'hate their religion'

Former US President Trump has claimed that Jewish American voters who vote for Democrats "hate their religion", drawing outrage from the White House, Democrats and leaders of several Jewish groups.

"Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves," said Trump, who hopes to unseat President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the November 5 US presidential election.

"The Democrat Party hates Israel," Trump further said in the interview with his former adviser Sebastian Gorka on Monday.

Groups including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Democratic Council of America condemned Trump's remarks for tying religion to how people might vote.

Asked to comment on Trump's remarks, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday: "There is no justification for spreading toxic, false stereotypes that threaten fellow citizens," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

After Trump's remarks were posted, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, wrote on social media platform X on Monday: "Trump is making highly partisan and hateful rants. I am working in a bipartisan way to ensure the US-Israeli relationship sustains for generations to come, buoyed by peace in the Middle East."

Last Thursday, Schumer, the highest-ranking US Jewish elected official and a longtime supporter of Israel, criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace five months into a war in Gaza.

Biden said many Americans shared Schumer's concerns. Netanyahu called Schumer's speech inappropriate.

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Alex Floyd said in a statement on Monday: "Jewish Americans deserve better than the appalling, offensive attacks Trump continues to launch against the Jewish community."

Standing by the remarks

Trump's campaign stood by his remarks.

"The Democrat Party has turned into a full-blown anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist cabal," Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

The Republican Jewish Coalition on Tuesday defended Trump's remarks, which it reposted on X.

While president, Trump came under fire from critics in 2017 for drawing an equivalence between white nationalists who chanted "Jews will not replace us" and protesters against racism who clashed in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump said there were "fine people on both sides."

Since Trump left office, critics have cited his 2022 meeting with white supremacist Nick Fuentes at his Florida club that Trump said happened inadvertently. Biden also assailed Trump for echoing Nazis by using the word "vermin" to describe political enemies.

Under pressure from some Democrats over his staunch support of Israel, Biden has shifted his position to push for a ceasefire and negotiations leading to Israeli and Palestinian states side by side.

A Pew Research Center poll conducted in 2020, when Trump and Biden faced off the first time, found 71 percent of American Jews surveyed identified with the Democratic Party while 26 percent leaned Republican.