Enthusiasm for Trump amongst Orthodox communities and leaders is high and vocal.
With the US presidential election just days away, incumbent President Donald Trump has many ardent, fervent and zealous supporters, most prominent among them Christian Evangelicals and working-class whites, who he is hoping will sweep him to victory. But another group which, although a good deal smaller, is also passionate and outspoken in its support for Trump is Orthodox Jews, both ultra-Orthodox (haredi) as well as substantial segments of the modern-Orthodox community. An American Jewish Committee survey published in October showed that 75% of American Jews say they are voting for Biden, with just 22% planning to vote for Trump, along with a Pew Research survey finding 70% of Jews voting for Biden and just 27% for the president. How US Jews identify religiously can also, to a great extent, show how they will vote in the presidential election, with the AJC poll showing that 74% of Orthodox Jews support Trump, compared to between 20% to 23% of non-Orthodox Jews. A poll conducted for Ami Magazine had Orthodox support for Trump even higher, with 83% of US Orthodox Jews saying they were voting for the president, compared to only 13% for Biden. And enthusiasm for Trump among Orthodox communities and leaders is high and vocal. In a high-profile expression of support for Trump last week, some of the most senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis in the world lavished the president with praise, including the grand rabbis of Satmar, Vinitz, Bobov and Munkacs, as well as numerous other senior haredi rabbis. One noticeable feature of recent ultra-Orthodox protests in New York City against new COVID-19 regulations on houses of worship was the widespread support demonstrated by protesters for the president. In addition, the modern-Orthodox community, both in the US along with their religious-Zionist counterparts in Israel, has also become a significant pool of support for the Republican president. In the US, the Young Israel network of modern-Orthodox synagogues has in recent years taken a sharp turn towards Trump and the Republicans, with its senior officials in the association issuing firm declarative expressions of support for the president. For some, this Orthodox support is puzzling. Jewish ethical conduct as espoused by the Talmud, famed rabbis such as Nachmanides, and the 19th century Mussar movement emphasize humility, kindness and compassion, not traits that the president is renowned for. The backing of some of hassidic grand rabbis, who embrace, teach and live by these principles, appears to be strikingly incongruous. Trump has a notorious propensity for insulting his political opponents, as individuals or groups, and for politically divisive rhetoric; a proclivity, as demonstrated by non-partisan trackers such as PolitiFact, to tell falsehoods; a record of infidelity towards at least two of his wives, including alleged affairs with two porn stars; and there are at least 19 women who have accused him of sexual assault, according to USA Today. Indeed, the president’s behavior and the nature of his personal life has led some Orthodox rabbis to break away from the heavy support of their sector towards Trump and publicly criticize him for his moral failings in recent days.
