The American right has been accused of being more tolerant of far-right individuals and antisemitic rhetoric in recent years, including from figures such as Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
Trump claimed to not know who Fuentes was during the interview after being asked if he would condemn him, despite having once had dinner with him and rapper Kanye West – who has also spouted antisemitic vitriol.
US President Donald Trump meets with rapper Kanye West in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, October 11, 2018 (Credit: SEBASTIAN SMITH / AFP) (Photo by SEBASTIAN SMITH/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
Factions within the Republican Party have been been questioning how much support America should give to Israel, a country which for decades has enjoyed its steadfast military and financial backing.
Trump himself however has consistently backed the Jewish State, once boasting that the country “has never had a better friend in the White House than me.” He recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital during his first term, and moved the US embassy there, withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal and recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House during Trump’s second term, and more recently the two marked New Year’s Eve together.
At the White House’s Chanukah celebrations last year, Trump said: “As president, I will always support Jewish Americans, and I will always be a friend and a champion to the Jewish people… we love you, and we love Israel.”
US President Donald Trump addresses the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025 (Credit: Evelyn Hockstein - Pool/Getty Images)Getty Images
In last week’s interview, Trump also boasted that he been bestowed with the Israel Award last year, a recognition usually awarded to Israeli citizens.
“I just got the Israel Award, which is the biggest award they give,” he said. “It was just given to me. First time it was ever given to anybody outside of Israel. There has been no better president in the history of the world as we know it that has been stronger or better and less antisemitic, certainly, than Donald Trump.”
He also added, “My daughter happens to be Jewish, beautiful, three grandchildren are Jewish. I’m very proud of them. I’m very proud of the whole, that whole family. I am the least antisemitic person probably there is anywhere in the world.”
Trump has, however, expressed controversial views about Jewish people, such as linking American Jewish voters who support the Democrats to a lack of loyalty to Israel, and suggesting that Jews have a disproportionate influence over American media or politics.
