Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Takes a Stand, Labels Donald Trump a 'Known Antisemite’

Tensions are escalating between the Biden administration and former President Donald Trump over apparent antisemitic rhetoric. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, did not mince words when he labeled Trump a 'known antisemite' in response to a controversial video his campaign shared. The video in question featured a fake news headline referencing the 'creation of a unified Reich' if Donald wins the 2024 presidential election. While the word 'Reich' can refer to historical German empires, its strongest modern connotation is with Nazi Germany's Third Reich under Adolf Hitler.

Trump's team quickly deleted the video, with his campaign claiming a junior staffer reposted it without noticing the inflammatory language. The headline text appeared to be taken verbatim from Wikipedia, according to the Associated Press. According to the First World War's Wikipedia section, "German industrial strength and production had significantly increased after 1871, driven by the creation of a unified Reich."

However, this is far from an isolated incident when it comes to Trump seemingly evoking antisemitic tropes or Nazi-era terminology. Earlier, he infamously had dinner with notorious antisemites Nick Fuentes and Kanye West. He has also repeatedly used the hateful phrase 'poisoning the blood' in reference to immigrants–a direct echo of Nazi rhetoric. Trump's affinity for antisemitic and authoritarian language appears to be a long-standing point of contention for his critics, too.

ABC News previously reported that in the 90s, he allegedly owned a copy of Mein Kampf. Apart from that, Vanity Fair also reported, "Last April, perhaps in a surge of Czech nationalism, Ivana Trump told her lawyer Michael Kennedy that from time to time her husband reads a book of Hitler's collected speeches, My New Order, which he keeps in a cabinet by his bed." When asked by the journalist for clarification, Donald stated, "Actually, it was my friend Marty Davis from Paramount who gave me a copy of Mein Kampf, and he’s a Jew.” Davis, however, said he gave Trump My New Order, not Mein Kampf, and that he (Davis) wasn't Jewish.

In the video fueling the latest firestorm, Donald can be heard criticizing Jewish people who support President Biden, saying, "If Jewish people are going to vote for Joe Biden, they have to have their head examined." Emhoff wasted no time firing back, declaring, "The last person I’m going to take advice from, as a Jewish person, is a known antisemite, who’s had dinner with antisemites, who said there were good people on both sides after Charlottesville. He’s the last person I’m going to take advice from," as per HuffPost.

While Donald supporters may dismiss this latest controversy as simply overblown outrage, the gravely serious accusation of antisemitism from the Second Gentleman cannot be ignored. Emhoff occupies a historic position as the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also forcefully condemned Donald's latest controversial video and its 'Reich' reference. Biden said, "This is Hitler’s language — not America’s," while Harris said, "This kind of rhetoric is unsurprising coming from the former president, and it is appalling, and we got to tell him who we are." The Biden campaign accused Donald by saying, "part of a pattern of [Donald’s] praise for dictators and echoing antisemitic tropes."