On the same day the Anti-Defamation League reported that disturbingly high levels of Americans believe in anti-Jewish tropes, MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace brazenly broadcasted one such trope on Deadline: White House.
On January 12, 2023, during a discussion about Republican calls for an investigation into President Biden’s son, Hunter, Nicolle Wallace said, in reference to former president Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, who is Jewish:
Jared was believed to have been working more fervently on Israel’s foreign policy than America’s, and that’s not on the agenda for the Republican Congress to investigate.
These comments by Wallace are, without question, antisemitic. They invoke the age-old dual loyalty (or disloyalty) trope, accusing Kushner of being more loyal to Israel (“working more fervently on Israel’s foreign policy than America’s”) than to the country for which he actually served. Wallace even seems to be implying that Kushner’s “dual loyalty” warrants an investigation.
As recent studies have repeatedly shown, there is a disturbing rise in antisemitism. Indeed, an ADL study published the same day found that the rate of Americans believing in anti-Jewish tropes has reached levels unseen in decades. One of the most pernicious and widespread anti-Jewish tropes is that of “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America,” with 39% of Americans reportedly believing that statement to be true.
The promotion of this anti-Jewish trope by MSNBC and Wallace to their audience works only to legitimize and further spread hatred of Jews in the United States.
CAMERA has written to MSNBC and called for an immediate retraction of the antisemitic remark and an on-air apology.