NEW YORK — Bend the Arc: Jewish Action released the following statement on Friday in response to President Trump’s remark about the “good bloodlines” of Henry Ford, a virulent antisemite who was praised by Hitler in Mein Kampf:
“Make no mistake, President Trump knew exactly what he was doing when he said one of America’s most notorious antisemites has ‘good bloodlines,’” said Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. “Henry Ford’s hatred of the Jewish people was so extreme that Hitler praised him in Mein Kampf as ‘a single great man.’ Trump’s ‘bloodlines’ comment is a loud dogwhistle to Ford’s ‘blood and soil’ nationalism, and his obsession with ‘globalists’ is a direct descendent of conspiracy theories which Ford promoted through antisemitic literature such as ‘The International Jew.’ We are in desperate need of courageous moral leadership to keep our families safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the Trump administration and their allies are pointing fingers, scapegoating, and distracting us from their epic failure to respond to this crisis.”