Jewish Trump Surrogate Says He Boycotted MSG Rally Over ‘Dangerous Antisemite’ Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Former President Donald Trump’s Sunday night rally in New York City made headlines for all the wrong reasons after a comedian made vulgar and racist jokes about migrants, Puerto Rico, Black Americans, Palestinians, and Jews.
On Monday it was reported by Jewish Insider that at least one pro-Trump activist and campaign surrogate, Shabbos Kestenbaum, boycotted the rally over his concerns regarding its line-up – particularly the inclusion of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Kestenbaum spoke on Trump’s behalf at the Republican National Convention over the summer and has become a regular campaigner for the former president.
“I believe President Trump, through the advocating for the Antisemitism Awareness Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act protections, Abraham Accords, and other measures, is the best choice for American Jewry,” Kestenbaum said to Jewish Insider in a statement, adding he would not be appearing at the event:
I will be voting for him and will continue to make the argument for him to moderate and liberal Jewish voters as the election closes.
I also believe that Tucker Carlson is a dangerous antisemite who has no business in electoral politics. I will continue to call out far-left and far-right antisemitism. Whether it be the right or left, I will never attend an event with an antisemite.
In a post on X, Kestenbaum clarified that he “was never in a serious discussion to speak at MSG.”
Carlson has been accused of pushing anti-Semitic tropes. Last summer, the Anti-Defamation League urged Twitter, now X, to reconsider hosting Carlson’s show on its platform.
“For years @TuckerCarlson slyly wove anti-Jewish conspiracies into his show on @FoxNews — attacking George Soros, slandering Paul Singer, and making other unfounded claims. Now the mask is fully off,” ADL chief Jonathan Greenblatt posted after Carlon’s first episode appeared on the platform.
After listing some other examples, Greenblatt concluded, “If @lindayacc wants to attract Fortune 500 advertisers and @elonmusk wants to create a genuine public square, it might be wise not to give this obvious antisemite such a huge megaphone. Let Tucker and his ilk push their hate somewhere else.”
In recent weeks, Carlson was slammed for hosting Holocaust denier Darryl Cooper on his show. Carlson fawned over Cooper during their conversation, calling him “the best and most honest popular historian in the United States.” Cooper used his time with Carlson to rewrite World War II history and declared Winston Churchill to be the real villain of the conflict, not Adolf Hitler.
