YouTube
- President Donald Trump on Wednesday quoted and thanked a well-known conspiracy theorist, who’d said Israeli Jews love the president "like he’s the King of Israel" and "the second coming of God."
- The day before, Trump sparked controversy when he said American Jews who vote for Democrats show "disloyalty."
- Root has promoted conspiracy theories on everything from former President Barack Obama’s place of birth to the Las Vegas shooting.
- Trump has made a habit of quoting or retweeting controversial people or ideas on Twitter.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday in a tweet quoted a conservative radio host and notorious conspiracy theorist, Wayne Allyn Root, who’d said Israeli Jews love the president "like he’s the King of Israel" and view him as "the second coming of God."
This came less than a day after Trump claimed American Jews who vote for the Democratic party lack knowledge and show "disloyalty," evoking a textbook anti-Semitic trope.
Much like the president, Root has promoted an array of conspiracy theories over the years, including that former President Barack Obama was not born in the US, Democratic National Committee employee Seth Rich was killed by a high-level Democrat, the Las Vegas shooting was a "coordinated Muslim attack," and that the deadly neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017 was "Probably paid actors & infiltrators hired by Soros. No conservative I’ve ever met commits violence. EVER."
Read more: Trump evoked anti-Semitic tropes against American Jews while trying to prove how pro-Israel he is
In a November 2016 article for Fox News, Root asked, "Did we just elect our first Jewish president?"
"Trust me, Donald Trump is as close as you can come to being our first Jewish president," Root wrote. "The very unique traits that have made him a billionaire and now President of the United States are as Jewish as you can get!"
Trump has made a habit of quoting or retweeting controversial people or ideas on Twitter.
Earlier this month, heretweeted a conspiracy theory that Jeffrey Epstein’s death could be tied to former President Bill Clinton.
In July, Trump retweeted a British columnist with a documented history of promoting Islamophobia, Katie Hopkins, who praised the "SEND HER BACK!" chants on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar after the president sent racist tweets about the Minnesota lawmaker and other freshman Democrats.
NOW WATCH: ‘Shark Tank’ star Robert Herjavec explains what makes America great
See Also:
- ‘Fox & Friends’ host Brian Kilmeade agrees with Trump’s claim that Jewish Americans voting for Democrats are ‘disloyal’
- Trump evoked anti-Semitic tropes against American Jews while trying to prove how pro-Israel he is
- Trump sparked widespread outrage after saying Jewish Americans voting for Democrats shows ‘great disloyalty’
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (John Haltiwanger)