Donald Trump is not a bigot or anti-Semite, he genuinely supports Israel, tells it like it is and the public should not always believe what is printed about him.
That’s the assessment of Trump’s chief lawyer, Jason Greenblatt, who said in an interview last week at Trump Tower that “people should read as much as they can” about Trump, but be careful because there is “a lot of garbage out there. … A lot of the media has been unfair to him.”
Greenblatt, one of two Israel advisers to the Trump campaign, described the presumptive Republican nominee for president as “a straight shooter … as opposed to a scripted version that people expect to hear” in politics. He said he knew some people would be upset when Trump said he wanted to be “neutral” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “in the hope of being a facilitator” between the two sides.
“But there is no question in my mind that he is an Israel supporter,” Greenblatt said, adding that Trump repeatedly condemned the recent spate of Palestinian murders of innocent Jewish civilians — including a 13-year-old girl as she slept in her bed and a father of 10 — while President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, “said not a word about it.”
“Just last week, someone asked why are we [the U.S.] defending Israel and he [Trump] said it is because Israel is our most important ally,” Greenblatt said. “It shows who he is. I like that kind of answer. …
“He sees Israel as a country with a similar value system as ours. He sees a nation of people who want to strive and succeed, and at the same time are in a difficult situation in a tough neighborhood and who spend an enormous amount of money defending themselves.”
Asked about the tenor of the campaign that has attracted racists and other bigots whom Trump has been slow to renounce, Greenblatt said it may have taken a few days but that Trump did disavow former Ku Klux Klan wizard David Duke and anti-Semitism.
“Give the guy a chance to understand who David Duke is,” Greenblatt said. “There is no question in my mind he is against anti-Semitism.”
Asked if he is uncomfortable with a campaign that has seen Jewish journalists critical of Trump attacked by anti-Semites on social media, Greenblatt replied: “I know the guy for 20 years, I know he is not a racist; he is an equal opportunity employer who will push someone who has talent. I know the man and what he represents.”
He also rejected a call by the Anti-Defamation League for Trump to again denounce the bigots and racists flocking to his campaign.
“I think [ADL national director] Jonathan Greenblatt … and others are completely wrong on this point. Those haters will be around with or without Donald Trump, and they should figure out how to solve the problem. … Why is hate speech allowed on social media? Why does Twitter allow it? I don’t think [the journalists] got the posts because of Donald. We should stop the hate in its tracks and not blame Donald. The ADL should call Twitter and ask why it’s acceptable. … It’s outrageous what is happening.”
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