Donald Trump is not anti-Semitic and he's not a racist," wrote Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.
New York:
Donald Trump's son-in-law, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, on Wednesday vigorously defended his father-in-law as no racist or anti-Semite after fresh controversy engulfed the Republican White House hopeful.
Jared Kushner, for whom Trump's daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism, wrote an essay in The New York Observer, which he owns, in response to accusations that the controversial New York billionaire is a bigot.
"My father-in-law is not an anti-Semite. It's that simple, really. Donald Trump is not anti-Semitic and he's not a racist," wrote the multi-millionaire property developer who has become a trusted Trump campaign adviser.
Kushner described Trump as "an incredibly loving and tolerant person" whom he had personally seen "embrace people of all racial and religious backgrounds, at his companies and in his personal life."
The 35-year-old, whose backing for the Republican has shocked many in deeply Democrat New York, said Trump was "instinctively pro-Jewish and pro-Israel" and that it was wrong to blame him for outrages committed by his supporters.
He wrote movingly about a great uncle and aunt who were murdered by the Nazis, his grandmother who joined the resistance and his grandfather who survived the Holocaust by living in a hole in the woods.
"America faces serious challenges. A broken economy, terrorism, gaping trade deficits and an overall lack of confidence.
"Intolerance should be added to that list. I'm confident that my father-in-law, with his outstanding record of real results, will be successful tackling these challenges. That's why I support him," Kushner finished.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee sparked outrage on Saturday after his campaign called his Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton, corrupt in a tweet featuring the Star of David symbol superimposed on a pile of money.
The Clinton campaign said the image was blatantly anti-Semitic. Trump deleted the tweet and then replaced the star with a circle.
But an Observer journalist wrote an open letter to Kushner in complaint. "When you stand silent and smiling in the background, his Jewish son-in-law, you're giving his most hateful supporters tacit approval," she wrote.
Jared Kushner, for whom Trump's daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism, wrote an essay in The New York Observer, which he owns, in response to accusations that the controversial New York billionaire is a bigot.
"My father-in-law is not an anti-Semite. It's that simple, really. Donald Trump is not anti-Semitic and he's not a racist," wrote the multi-millionaire property developer who has become a trusted Trump campaign adviser.
Kushner described Trump as "an incredibly loving and tolerant person" whom he had personally seen "embrace people of all racial and religious backgrounds, at his companies and in his personal life."
The 35-year-old, whose backing for the Republican has shocked many in deeply Democrat New York, said Trump was "instinctively pro-Jewish and pro-Israel" and that it was wrong to blame him for outrages committed by his supporters.
He wrote movingly about a great uncle and aunt who were murdered by the Nazis, his grandmother who joined the resistance and his grandfather who survived the Holocaust by living in a hole in the woods.
"America faces serious challenges. A broken economy, terrorism, gaping trade deficits and an overall lack of confidence.
"Intolerance should be added to that list. I'm confident that my father-in-law, with his outstanding record of real results, will be successful tackling these challenges. That's why I support him," Kushner finished.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee sparked outrage on Saturday after his campaign called his Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton, corrupt in a tweet featuring the Star of David symbol superimposed on a pile of money.
The Clinton campaign said the image was blatantly anti-Semitic. Trump deleted the tweet and then replaced the star with a circle.
But an Observer journalist wrote an open letter to Kushner in complaint. "When you stand silent and smiling in the background, his Jewish son-in-law, you're giving his most hateful supporters tacit approval," she wrote.
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