MELVILLE, New York — Donald Trump selected author and Senator J. D. Vance as his running mate. Vance has been outspoken in support of Israel, favoring ongoing financial and military support to Israel despite generally being an “American First” isolationist. He has spoken out against antisemitism, saying “If you beat up a Jew and don’t face consequences, the attacks will continue and get worse.” But he has also warned of an immigrant “invasion,” echoing the right wing replacement theory that claims Jews are behind efforts to replace whites with minorities in America. Also, he echoed another antisemitic trope in invoking the name of Holocaust survivor George Soros, the billionaire supporter of liberal causes who many on the far right hold up as a Jewish puppet master trying to destroy the “Christian social order.” How did Vance invoke George Soros’s name in this way?
*
Mark D. Zimmerman is the author of a series of Jewish trivia books, under the title RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun.