Jewish and Muslim groups condemned President Trump for calling Senator Chuck Schumer “a Palestinian,” saying that the president used the term as a racial slur.
Mr. Trump made the comments on Wednesday at a meeting in the Oval Office with Micheál Martin, the prime minister of Ireland. A reporter asked Mr. Trump about tax cuts, and Mr. Trump responded by criticizing Democrats and then focused on Mr. Schumer, the minority leader and the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the United States.
“Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I’m concerned. He’s become a Palestinian,” Mr. Trump said. “He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian.”
Nihad Awad, the national executive director of CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United States, said in a statement that Mr. Trump’s use of the term “Palestinian” as a racial slur was offensive and “beneath the dignity of his office.” He added that Mr. Trump’s comments contributed to the “dehumanization of the Palestinian people.”
The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights antisemitism, said that using “Palestinian” as a slur and deciding who is and is not Jewish was unacceptable. “Instead of weaponizing people’s identity, use the power of the bully pulpit to bring the American people together,” the group said in a statement.
Halie Soifer, chief executive of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said Mr. Trump’s comments were “abhorrent” and showed why many Jewish voters did not support Mr. Trump. “His rhetoric, agenda, and alignment with right-wing extremists are endangering American Jews,” she wrote on social media.
Mr. Trump’s comments came after Senate Democrats said on Wednesday that they would not back a Republican bill to fund the government through the end of September, raising the chances of a government shutdown at the end of the week.
Mr. Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
