President Donald Trump on Friday renewed a line of political attack that has repeatedly drawn condemnation from Jewish organizations and civil rights advocates, questioning why many Jewish Americans continue to support Democratic candidates despite what he describes as his strong record backing Israel.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Trump criticized former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran before turning to American Jewish voters.

“How a Jewish person can vote for a Democrat is beyond me,” Trump said. “Because I’ve been the best president in the history of Israel and they acknowledge — and by the way, in Israel I think I was at 99 percent or something.”

The remarks immediately revived criticism that Trump was invoking a longstanding antisemitic trope suggesting that Jewish Americans have a political obligation to prioritize Israel when making electoral decisions. Critics say such rhetoric echoes the “dual loyalty” stereotype — the idea that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their own country or should vote primarily based on Israel’s interests — a notion that historians and antisemitism experts have identified as a recurring form of anti-Jewish prejudice.

Trump has made similar comments throughout his political career, at times accusing Jewish Democrats of showing “great disloyalty” or failing to appreciate his administration’s policies toward Israel. Those remarks have previously been condemned by groups across the American Jewish spectrum, including organizations that strongly support Israel but reject suggestions that Jewish Americans constitute a monolithic voting bloc or owe political allegiance to any foreign country.

The president has consistently defended his comments by pointing to what many analysts regard as one of the most pro-Israel foreign policy records of any modern US administration. During his first term, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, moved the US Embassy there, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement, and helped broker the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states.

Those policies earned widespread praise from Israeli leaders, particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and from many Republican lawmakers and pro-Israel advocacy groups, who argued they strengthened Israel’s security and reshaped the regional balance of power.

However, Trump has recently come under fire over moves from his administration that many perceive as undercutting Israel’s interests. While brokering a deal to end the Iran War, the administration sidelined Israel in discussions and negotiated terms that sought to constrain the Jewish state’s ability to fight Hezbollah. The deal also did not guarantee the removal of Iran’s enriched uranium, an oversight that many critics say leaves a central threat to Israel’s security unresolved.

Israeli officials criticized the deal and insisted that they would continue their defensive military campaign against the Lebanese terrorist group. In late June, Israel and Lebanon signed a peace deal, mediated by the US, aimed at winding down the conflict by withdrawing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from parts of southern Lebanon.

But Trump’s political messaging has often complicated that record. While supporters view his comments as emphasizing his administration’s support for Israel, critics argue that repeatedly framing Jewish Americans’ voting behavior around Israel perpetuates harmful assumptions about Jewish identity and political loyalty.

American Jews have historically voted overwhelmingly for Democratic presidential candidates, with surveys consistently showing that domestic issues — including healthcare, abortion, the economy, democracy and church-state separation — rank alongside or above Israel in determining their political preferences.

Trump’s remarks come as Israel remains a deeply polarizing issue in American politics. Republicans have largely rallied behind the Israeli government following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and the subsequent war in Gaza, while Democrats have become increasingly divided over US policy, with progressives calling for greater pressure on Israel over the humanitarian consequences of the conflict.

Against that backdrop, Trump has repeatedly sought to contrast his record with that of Democratic administrations, arguing that no president has done more to support Israel. At the same time, his continued appeals to Jewish voters through the lens of Israel have ensured that debates over antisemitism, political identity and the boundaries of acceptable campaign rhetoric remain part of the broader national conversation.