Jewish PAC Targets Donald Trump Saying Voters Should Get ‘Head Examined’

Jewish Democrats have hit back against Donald Trump‘s taunt that they “should have their heads examined” for the way they vote, and their leader told Newsweek the former president’s attitude is “incredibly scary.”

The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) PAC has released an ad called Head Examination which shares deep concern about the Republican presidential nominee’s remarks. It shows a woman at the doctor’s office explaining her elevated heart rate is due to “a convicted felon running for president threatening American Jews.”

Halie Soifer, the CEO of JDCA PAC and a former adviser to Kamala Harris, told Newsweek: “He [Trump] has repeatedly attacked us and scapegoated Jews. The underlying message is incredibly serious. It’s incredibly scary.”

Newsweek reached out to a representative of the Trump campaign for comment.

Since this summer, Trump has claimed that he is the better candidate for Jewish voters, saying that any Jew who votes for the Democratic ticket needs to get “their head examined.” Trump has also previously said that “any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion.” Trump has said of Kamala Harris, whose husband is Jewish: “She’s been very, very bad to Israel and she’s been bad and disrespectful to the Jewish people.”

The 30-second advertisement said “our lives depend” on everyone voting this election. This video is a part of a $2 million effort by the JDCA PAC to mobilize the Jewish vote for Democratic nominees in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It will be released on OpenWeb and TV platforms. The ad will also target young voters on social media.

The ad is targeting 18- to 40-year-olds, who Soifer said are more likely to support Vice President Kamala Harris but less likely to vote.

“We need to remind them that it’s not a joke,” Soifer said. “It’s doctor’s orders.”

In a July 30 interview with New York radio host Sid Rosenberg on 77WABC, Trump reiterated the line that “any Jewish person that voted for her [Harris] or him [President Biden] or whoever it’s going to be…should have their head examined.”

“If you love Israel, or if you’re Jewish, because a lot of Jewish people do not like Israel, and they happen to be in New York, you know that,” Trump said. “But if you are Jewish, regardless of Israel, if you’re Jewish, if you vote for a Democrat, you’re a fool, an absolute fool.”

Soon after Democratic presidential nominee Harris announced her candidacy, Trump and his running mate Senator JD Vance began accusing her of antisemitism, calling her “totally against the Jewish people.” Vance and other Republicans have suggested Harris passed over Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, as her running mate “out of antisemitism.”

While Biden was frequently attacked from the left for his support of the campaign in Gaza, Harris has been seen as more sympathetic to the Palestinian suffering in that war.

Journalist Bob Woodward paints a different picture in a new book offering a behind the scenes look at Biden’s reactions to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. CNN, which received an early copy of the book War, said that Woodward recalls Biden calling Netanyahu a “son of a bitch…he’s a bad guy.”

At the DNC, the Vice President said she will stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself because no one should have to go through a terrorist attack. She noted, however, that Palestinians had faced “devastation” over the past ten months. Harris said she will equally fight for their right to self-determination.

“With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock because now is time for a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal,” Harris said.

Soifer said American Jews don’t view the conflict as “completely binary.”

“We don’t see our or her support of Israel as any less significant because she’s calling for an end of the suffering for Palestinian people,” she said, adding that the top two issues American Jews are voting on are democracy and abortion rights.

Trump, for his part, has been vocal about his support for Israel, saying he has “fought for Israel like no president ever before.” During his term in office, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

New data by the Combat Antisemitism Movement found that 43 percent of Jewish Americans said their voting behavior would change. In addition, 17 percent of those voters said that they normally voted Democrat but would be voting Republican now, while only 9 percent said the opposite.

Peter Deutsch, a former Democratic congressman from Florida, is one of those flipping. On Monday, he endorsed Trump, citing concerns over Israel’s security.

“I feel very comfortable today publicly announcing that I’m endorsing Donald Trump to be reelected as president and I’m planning on voting for him on Nov. 5,” Deutsch said during a press call hosted by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee to commemorate Hamas‘ October 7 attacks.

But Soifer doesn’t see this endorsement having much pull.

“I really don’t think his endorsement will have an impact at all,” Soifer said. “Most people don’t even know who he is. I don’t even know if he can vote here. He lives in Israel.”

That said, the JDCA found recently that 72 percent of Jewish voters nationally said they will vote for the Vice President, compared to 25 percent for Trump. That is little changed from Biden’s 70 percent share of the Jewish vote in 2020.

“There are far, far more in number and in prominence former Republicans or Republicans who are coming out in support of Kamala Harris, than there are Democrats supporting Kamala Harris,” Soifer said. “The overwhelming majority of Jews are going to support Kamala Harris and Democrats as they have in the past.”