From Michigan to Mamdani: Trump targets a growing Jewish revolt inside Democratic Party

U.S. President Donald Trump is turning up the political heat on Jewish voters who continue supporting Democrats, even as new polling out of New York City reveals significant tensions within the Jewish community over Israel, antisemitism, and the direction of the Democratic Party.

Speaking Thursday at a campaign rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Trump took aim at Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, delivering a blistering message to Jewish and Black voters considering supporting him. “If you’re Black, or if you’re Jewish, and if you vote for Abdul, you’re crazy,” Trump declared.

The remarks came just four days after Trump made similarly provocative comments at a campaign rally in Port Huron, Michigan, where he was campaigning for Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers. “Any Jewish person that supports this guy should be ashamed of themselves,” Trump said on Sunday. “You should never speak to them again.”

Trump also questioned how Jewish voters could even consider supporting El-Sayed, a fierce critic of Israel who has accused the Jewish state of committing genocide in Gaza and argues that Israel should no longer be considered an American ally. For Trump, the argument is pretty much straightforward: Jewish voters should jettison their traditional allegiance to Democrats when candidates take positions he views as hostile to Israel.

The political stakes here are enormous. El-Sayed and Rogers are locked in one of America's most competitive Senate contests, with control of the chamber potentially hanging in the balance, and Jewish voters could help determine the outcome.

El-Sayed has generated considerable controversy within Michigan’s Jewish community, particularly over his opposition to U.S. military assistance to Israel and his response to the March attack on Temple Israel Synagogue in suburban Detroit. Although he condemned that attack, his subsequent comments describing violence as a cycle and suggesting that 'hurt people hurt people' drew criticism from Jewish leaders. He later apologized.

As we’ve reported earlier, there are liberal Jewish Democrats in Michigan mobilizing for Mike Rogers, and that could make a huge difference in next week’s election. Still, Jewish Democrats are hardly united against him. Former Democratic Senator Al Franken and other prominent Jewish Americans have endorsed El-Sayed, arguing that his positions on Israel should be understood within his broader approach to human rights.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, new polling suggests those same political tensions are playing out in New York City. A new Honan Strategy Group survey released on Thursday reveals that Jewish Democratic primary voters are almost evenly divided over the political future of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In a hypothetical 2029 Democratic primary matchup, Jewish voters narrowly favor Mamdani’s own police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, over the mayor, 44% to 42%. The two-point difference falls well within the survey’s six-point margin of error.

More revealingly, 51% of Jewish Democratic primary voters disapprove of Mamdani’s job performance, while 45% approve and 44% say it is time for someone new in City Hall, compared with 41% who support giving Mamdani another term. The poll surveyed 269 Jewish Democratic primary voters between Oct. 2 and Oct. 7.

Clearly, those numbers illustrate significant dissatisfaction with Mamdani, whose positions on Israel and Zionism have repeatedly generated controversy. An earlier survey by the same polling firm, involving 503 New York Jews, found that 65% disapproved of Mamdani’s handling of antisemitism. By contrast, 75% approved of Tisch’s performance on the issue.

Tisch comes from a prominent Jewish family and has publicly supported Israel and maintained a visible connection to Jewish institutions. Earlier this year, Mamdani declined to participate in the city’s annual Celebrate Israel Parade, while Tisch marched and represented the city. Yet despite a clear difference in how both Tisch and Mamdani view Israel and Jews overall, it’s rather surprising that Mamdani even has the support of 41% of Jewish Democrats.

Overall, Mamdani remains politically formidable. Among all likely Democratic primary voters surveyed, he leads Tisch 54% to 17% and maintains a 73% job approval rating. Even among Jewish Democrats, Mamdani leads a hypothetical multi-candidate primary field. Tisch has not indicated that she intends to challenge him.

Perhaps the most politically consequential finding comes from another portion of the Honan polling. About half (51%) of Jewish New York City voters say their support for the Democratic Party has actually weakened since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Only 9% say their support has strengthened. Additionally, 61% view the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization closely associated with Mamdani, as hostile to Jewish interests.

Still, the polling offers a more complicated picture. A majority of Jewish respondents continue to describe the Democratic Party as friendly to Jewish interests, and many Jewish voters remain committed to progressive candidates despite disagreements over Israel. It’s all a bit muddled right now, to say the least.

The larger question may not be whether Jewish voters are abandoning the Democratic Party. It is whether Israel and antisemitism are becoming powerful enough issues to make traditionally loyal Democrats reconsider individual candidates. From Michigan’s razor-thin Senate contest to New York City’s emerging political divisions, the evidence suggests that debate is becoming increasingly consequential.