The Biggest Conspiracy Theories Are All-Consuming
This week’s antisemitism and transphobia—Trump, West, Rowling—is all connected
Reading this week’s headlines about antisemitism and transphobia — Donald Trump, Kanye West, J. K. Rowling — the extremism is clear, and the connections make themselves visible.
Trump’s Antisemitism
Yesterday, Donald Trump bragged that he’d make a good Israeli prime minister because, allegedly, the Jews there appreciate that he has “done more for Israel” than any other U.S. President. (Of course, his sole criterion for whether he’s good at anything is whether he can successfully project the lie that others say he is.) He warned: “U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel — Before it is too late!”
Those last words are a threat, even though the literal meaning isn’t clear. Something bad will happen to Israel? Or to USAmerican Jews? The comment doesn’t need a literal meaning to be understood, since it’s not a sincere prediction but rather a way of stoking antisemitism.
