US President Donald Trump has ostensibly condemned efforts by the New York Police Department to disperse a mass celebration of Chabad hassidim in Borough Park, Brooklyn on Tuesday night. He also appeared to endorse a claim that such enforcement was akin to the "rounding up of Jews" in darker times of modern Jewish history.
Large numbers of the Chabad hassidim had gathered for a Simchat Beit Hashoeva celebration in the streets of Borough Park, Brooklyn which police sought to disperse due to the violation of new COVID-19 regulations which ban mass gatherings in red zones, which affect parts of Brooklyn.
The actor and Trump ally James Woods retweeted video footage of the police trying to break up the celebration, implying that New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio was involved in mass persecution of Jews.
“Rounding up the Jews” is an optic that I would never have expected to see in my American lifetime. DeBlasio is a criminal. No wonder he changed his name from Wilhelm. He is an anti-Semite thug piece of shit. https://t.co/15cxKSAoOR
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) October 6, 2020
“‘Rounding up the Jews’ is an optic that I would never have expected to see in my American lifetime. DeBlasio is a criminal. No wonder he changed his name from Wilhelm. He is an anti-Semite thug piece of shit,” tweeted Woods.
In a Wednesday morning twitter storm, Trump then seemingly endorsed Woods’ opinion that DeBlasio, a Democratic politician, was engaging in such persecution of the Jewish community.
Wow, what does this grim picture remind you of? I am the only thing in the Radical Left’s way! VOTE https://t.co/gnlvm4swFv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
“Wow, what does this grim picture remind you of? I am the only thing in the Radical Left’s way! VOTE,” tweeted Trump in a retweet of Woods’ tweet.