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Trump denounces wave of anti-Semitism: 'It's horrible and it is going to stop'
Facing criticism for his previous response, President Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced a recent wave of anti-Semitic crimes.
In an interview with NBC News, the president offered a more forceful condemnation of recent anti-Semitic provocations in the US, including threats to Jewish community centers and the extensive vandalism of Jewish graves.
Bomb threats were made by phone to nearly a dozen Jewish sites on Monday alone.
Speaking at the newly opened Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on Tuesday, Trump reiterated his denunciation.
"Anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish communities and our Jewish community centers are horrible and are painful," Trump said, adding that "it is going to stop."
VIDEO: Trump tells @NBCNews exclusively: "Antisemitism is horrible & it's gonna stop & it has to stop"https://t.co/Rmze0xE8Xt
— Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) February 21, 2017
Over the past several weeks, Trump was far less direct when confronted about a recent uptick in anti-Semitic crimes.
In a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, Trump was asked about a rise in anti-Semitic crimes following his election. The president responded by boasting about the size of his Electoral College victory and acknowledging that his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, were Jewish.
"I just want to say that we are very honored by the victory that we had — 316 Electoral College votes," he said at the time. "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. And there's tremendous enthusiasm out there."
Asked a similar question on Thursday at a press conference, he chastised the reporter who asked the question, telling him to "sit down" and saying the question was "not a simple question, not a fair question."
"I am the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life. No. 2, racism, the least racist person," Trump said, even as the reporter made it clear he was not accusing Trump personally of anti-Semitism.
Critics have blasted chief White House strategist Steve Bannon's former stewardship of Breitbart, a far-right website that has attracted some anti-Semitic readers. And last month, the White House defended an official Holocaust remembrance press release that did not specifically mentions Jews.
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