--- title: Donald Trump: Anti-Semitism Question Sparks Response description: President Trump has a habit of talking about his Electoral College win at inappropriate moments. canonical: https://time.com/4672402/donald-trump-anti-semitism-netanyahu/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-15T20:15:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:17:16.346Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Was Asked About Anti-Semitism. Here's How He Responded og:description: By talking about his campaign win. og:url: https://time.com/4672402/donald-trump-anti-semitism-netanyahu/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta932dd446376eedd/6988ba7efb4eac1d8d890ca3/trump-netanyahu-settlement-expansion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5400 og:image:height: 3038 og:image:alt: US-ISRAEL-NETANYAHU-TRUMP-DIPLOMACY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Was Asked About Anti-Semitism. Here's How He Responded twitter:description: By talking about his campaign win. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta932dd446376eedd/6988ba7efb4eac1d8d890ca3/trump-netanyahu-settlement-expansion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Was Asked About Anti-Semitism. He Responded by Talking About His Win > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f7c18a8a-683e-4426-b6fd-5994c8d68139&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump Answers Anti-Semitism Question By Talking About His Win [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Answers Anti-Semitism Question By Talking About His Win](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YOYhhXva.m3u8) (1:34)  _Published 2017-02-15. President Trump has a habit of talking about his Electoral College win at inappropriate moments, but his reference on Wednesday was perhaps the most unexpected._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 15, 2017 8:15 PM UTC by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 15, 2017 8:15 PM UTC President Trump has a habit of talking about his Electoral College win at inappropriate moments, but his [reference on Wednesday](http://time.com/4672101/donald-trump-netanyahu-settlement-expansion-hold-off/) was perhaps the most unexpected. The scene: A joint press conference with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu](http://time.com/4642753/donald-trump-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-jerusalem/). An Israeli reporter asked a straightforward question about “a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the United States” since his election. Here’s how Trump responded: --- > “” --- At least one Democratic lawmaker criticized Trump over his response. > [](https://twitter.com/RepJerryNadler/status/831942402315321345) Trump previously raised eyebrows when [he talked about his campaign win](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-cia-speech-transcript/) while speaking in front of a CIA memorial to fallen intelligence officers. ## Transcript Well, I just want to say that we are very honored by the victory that we had, 306 electoral college votes. We were not supposed to crack 220, you know that right? There was no way to 221, but then they said there's no way to 270 << [ LAUGH ] << and there's ="" tremendous ="" enthusiasm ="" out ="" there .="" i ="" wil ="" say ="" that . We are going to have peace in this country. We are going to stop crime in this country. We are going to do everything within our power to stop long simmering racism and. Every other thing that's going on because a lot of bad things have been taking place over a long period of time. I think one of the reasons I won the election is we have a very, very divided nation, very divided. And hopefully I'll be able to do something about that and it was something that was very important to me. As far as people, Jewish people, so many friends, a daughter who happens to be here right now. A son in law and three beautiful grand children. I think that you're going to see a lot different United States of America over the next three, four, or eight years. I think a lot of good things are happening, and you're gonna see a lot of love. You're gonna see a lot of love, okay? 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