This college crackdown thing isn't about anti-semitism.

Trump doesn't care about the treatment of Jews. He cares about being a strongman.

The above visual is an image that was produced in 2016. It was Tweeted out by Donald Trump during his presidential run against Hillary Clinton.

As you can see, it features Clinton, a whole lot of money and MOST CORRUPT CANDIDATE EVER! atop … a Star of David.

Or, as folks often refer to it: A Jewish Star.

This was not an accident. I know this because, when it comes to high-level politics, very few things are, in fact, accidental. Especially in regards to messaging. And, as a Jew, I can tell you that we as a people have forever been described as shifty, as conniving, as greedy, as money hungry. I mean, I remember being a kid in my small (cough, hick) town of Mahopac, N.Y. and having pennies thrown at me and my brother. “Cheap Jews!” kids would snicker. “Cheap Jews!”

I bring this up because, as you read this, the Trump White House says it is combatting anti-semitism by coming down hard on America’s grandest universities. One by one, the schools are being targeted and punished for their past unwillingness to clamp down on anti-Semitic hatred. And, to be clear, I do believe there is a legitimate problem with anti-semitism in America. Last year, during the myriad protests against Israel, we (American Jews) felt targeted and harassed and threatened. Shit got ugly. People assumed being Jewish meant being pro-killing Palestinians. People assumed being Jewish meant you were 100 percent with Israel, no matter what. People assumed being Jewish meant you were aligned with Benjamin Netanyahu—a man (I am quite certain many Jews agree) belongs aboard the next one-way space launch to the Phoebe ring of Saturn.

So, yes. anti-semitism is real, anti-semitism sucks and 2024-2025 hasn’t been the best time for American Jews.

That being said …

Donald Trump doesn’t give two shits about the Jews. I know this for a pair of reasons:

A. Donald Trump doesn’t give two shits about anyone not named Donald Trump.

B. Donald Trump’s history of anti-semitism is absolutely disgusting.

You can start with the pictured Tweet—whose intent is as clear as glass. You can follow with the 2017 white nationalistic march in Charlottesville, Va., after which Trump spoke of the “very fine people” on both sides. “Very fine people”? Very fine people? These were white nationalists. Chanting “We will not be replaced!” These are the very people who hate Jews the most. But … they’re very fine people? Really?

He later met with Nick Fuentes, an avowed neo-Nazi. And Kanye West, who has blasted Jews with raw-level ugliness. He ran an advertisment featuring several famous Jews—George Soros, Janet L. Yellen and Lloyd Blankfein—while warning of “global special interests.” (You don’t need 20/20 vision to see what he was saying).

There’s more. At a White House Chanukah party back seven years ago, Trump looked toward a gaggle of Jews and said Mike Pence and his wife journey to Israel “and they love your country. They love your country.” As if we, American Jews, don’t consider the United States to be our land. Two years later, Trump told American Jewish leaders, “We really appreciate you; we love your country also.” Um, what?

Not to be forgotten was this recent gem of a moment, in regards to Chuck Schumer, the Jewish senate minority leader.

The Washington Post broke the whole grotesque Trump-Jews drama down well in this 2022 article …

And the thing is—no one ever calls Trump out on this bullshit. The next time Elise Stefnik—self-professed savior to the Jews—rips Trump’s statements about my peeps will be the first. Even now, in the midst of his assaults on academic freedom, no one is standing up and saying, “Wait! Bro! What the fuck are you talking about? You dined with Nick Fuentes! You said Chuck Schumer wasn’t a real Jew! You ran those advertisements! Who are you—of all the people—to complain about the treatment toward Jews?”

The truth is, none of this is actually about anti-semitism. It’s about power. Exercising power over universities. Exercising power over academics. Punishing those (academics) who never liked him, never admired him, never supported him.

This is a bully bullying.

But do not say it’s about attacking anti-semitism.

Because, unless we’re enriching his life, the guy leading the charge has no use for Jews.

Never has.