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As Republicanism turns nastier and more paranoid, antisemitism in the United States is soaring [1]

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Date: 2023-03-23

As for why antisemitic Americans are feeling increasingly emboldened to act out on their conspiratorial beliefs, you can almost certainly blame the campaign of white nationalist and neo-Nazi conspiracy beliefs that have been adopted as daily talking points by Trump-allied Republicans and their pundit ranks. Republican lawmakers adopted conspiracies about powerful "globalists" directly from neo-Nazi propagandists who themselves adopted the term as online euphemism for "the Jews;" the word continues, in Republican hands, to be a reference to a supposedly secret cabal of powerful elites who are said to control world events ranging from immigration patterns to pandemic strategies to war.

White nationalists and open neo-Nazis have long targeted one Jewish American in particular as the supposed ringleader of this world domination: pro-democracy philanthropist George Soros. That rhetoric, too, has moved from the neo-Nazi fringe to "mainstream" Republican rhetoric. It is the stuff of Fox News. It is the explanation Donald Trump himself gives when faced with possible consequences for his own actions.

In a Thursday attack on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is Black, Trump again attacked Bragg as a supposed tool of Soros, by name. "BRAGG REFUSES TO STOP DESPITE OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY. HE IS A SOROS BACKED ANIMAL," Trump wrote. "THIS IS THE GESTAPO, THIS IS RUSSIA AND CHINA, BUT WORSE."

Trump has repeatedly invoked Soros as he attempts to rally violent white nationalist militias to his defense ahead of a possible criminal indictment, but he's not alone. Republicans have adopted a once-fringe conspiracy pushed by neo-Nazis into a party talking point.

It. Is. Everywhere.

x If I were Governor of Florida, I would not allow any Floridian to be hauled before a Soros-backed prosecutor in a blue city over politics. I wouldn’t make an exception to not protect the President of the United States.



Ron DeSantis should be standing in the breach to stop any… pic.twitter.com/jeuzxKCiGB — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 22, 2023

x Ted Cruz now fundraising off Trump’s indictment. pic.twitter.com/tp8Yl82bvm — Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) March 21, 2023

x This is the Speaker of the House making it clear that the official Republican position is that Donald Trump can commit as many crimes as he wants, whether he is in office or not, and face any consequences. pic.twitter.com/J93fpnikVD — Jason Karsh (@jkarsh) March 19, 2023

x Alvin Bragg is bought by George Soros. He allows violent criminals to walk the streets of New York City, but will prosecute the likely Republican nominee (and former president) on a baseless misdemeanor charge. These people are trying to turn America into a third-world country. https://t.co/2eYqPegRLF — J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) March 18, 2023

x In a new interview, Michael Flynn says covid was intentionally introduced into the world by global elites like George Soros, Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates and the Arabella Group so they can “rule the world,” “control humanity,” and defeat Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/5UM2grzJGS — Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) January 29, 2022

x Kyle Rittenhouse tells Don Jr that he thinks George Soros was behind him being prosecuted. pic.twitter.com/deH00t5Yx5 — Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) February 23, 2023

x Trump now sending out fundraising emails calling George Soros "Biden's Puppet Master". 🤔 — Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 14, 2023

x When asked about a possible federal ban on abortions, @JDVance1 suggested George Soros might charter planes to send Black women to California for abortions. https://t.co/LRZbFtAdVx pic.twitter.com/NLXU5pLmWA — Anna Staver (@AnnaStaver) September 15, 2022

x Trump just sent out a fundraising email saying that if he would only “sell his soul to the globalist power brokers who’ve made a fortune off of destroying our country” then George Soros would call off the prosecution.



All that’s missing are the ((())). pic.twitter.com/mqjU1hQ58g — Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) March 19, 2023

x .@foxnation email promoting Tucker's trip to Hungary indistinguishable from language on InfoWars/4Chan/Daily Stormer these last few years:



"George Soros is waging cultural and political warfare on the West, but he's met his match in Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban." pic.twitter.com/dCACf5rHFk — Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) January 26, 2022

x Pro-Trump lawyers Lin Wood and Sidney Powell hold a rally. He says, "It's 1776 in America again....Get out of our country, George Soros....You're not going to sell our votes to China....The media is a lie. He slams Kemp: "Lock him up." Says he took money from China. Crazy people. pic.twitter.com/zMZ6XhKHR4 — David Corn (@DavidCornDC) December 2, 2020

x Steve Bannon podcast claims 'Soros and Hannity' working together in conspiracy against Putin https://t.co/mbugkC1RJ9 — Raw Story (@RawStory) March 3, 2022

x Okay, I spent the last hour listening to Rudy's press conference



Here's their argument:



George Soros & antifa coordinated w/ Venezuela to change vote totals in key states for Biden after everyone went to bed on Election Night (though kept totals accurate for House & Senate) — igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) November 19, 2020

x Fox guest Bernie Kerik: “I don't know what's going on, and who's behind it. I have an idea — George Soros, for one” https://t.co/0Tm0qd2QAp — Media Matters (@mmfa) June 1, 2020

Republican Party candidates have even been turning those antisemitic conspiracy theories into campaign ads:

x Daniel Kelly's big boosters Fair Courts America is running a scary ad called 'George Soros: The Mastermind Behind America's Crime Wave,' in case you're wondering where these people are coming from. — illusory tenant 🇺🇦 (@illusory_tenant) March 1, 2023

A Republican Party that adopts neo-Nazi conspiracies as central tropes of their own claims will, almost by definition, validate those conspiracies in the eyes of far-right Americans who share them. It's not a bit surprising that those "MAGA" Americans have been adding their own hate speech, antisemitic vandalism, and violent attacks.

It's not just speech. Donald Trump and his administration embraced a host of white nationalist beliefs—and white nationalist administration members. From the Trump administration's "Muslim ban" to an aggressive, paranoid campaign against immigrants and refugees, to Republican suggestions that the COVID-19 pandemic was a malicious act by China against "the west," "MAGA" Republicanism embraces white nationalist rhetoric to achieve white nationalist goals.

And history has shown that whenever racism escalates or is given broader cultural "permissions," antisemitism increases hand-in-hand. When Tucker Carlson invites white nationalist figures on the Fox News airwaves or he spends segments promoting the neo-Nazi "great replacement" theory that claims "elites" or "globalists" are intentionally sending refugees to the United States in order to dilute white "culture," that is not a mere hat tip to white supremacist paranoia. That is the intentional promotion of white supremacist paranoia.

It has consequences, and we're seeing them. Incidents of antisemitic violence and hate speech are soaring in America, and it's because the Republican Party, Fox News, and individual Republican elected officials have adopted antisemitic conspiracy theories as core elements of their new fascist movement. There's no question who's to blame here.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/23/2159838/-Fascism-As-Republicans-promote-antisemitic-conspiracies-antisemitic-attacks-hit-all-time-high

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