Listen To Story Above
A vocal progressive and feminist, Rona Kaufman, once a staunch critic of President Donald Trump, has surprisingly expressed her intention to support him in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Kaufman’s decision stems from her frustration with the perceived weakness of the Biden-Harris administration’s response to the October 7 incident.
In an op-ed published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Saturday, titled “Why I, a progressive feminist Democrat, am voting for Donald Trump,” Kaufman articulated her reasoning:
“After witnessing the events of Oct. 7 and after realizing that too many Democratic Party elected officials and constituents lack the moral clarity to respond effectively to the situation Israel is facing and to the threat of extremist ideologies, I have decided to vote Republican.”
https://t.co/Iw9fUYajo5
Progressive Feminist Democrat, Rona Kaufman, Backs Trump over Harris’s Weak Responsehttps://t.co/9hYjCros0G— Brazen Daily (@BrazenDaily) November 3, 2024
Kaufman further elaborated:
“I am voting for the party that is more likely to take a firm stance regarding concerns related to security and human rights; more likely to support Israel’s right to self-defense; and more likely to uphold civil rights by addressing unlawful acts of violence and discrimination on college campuses.”
She expressed her dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party’s approach, stating:
“I am not voting for the party that chooses appeasement in its foreign policy. I am not voting for the party that took no definitive action as concerning incidents occurred on college campuses across the United States.”
Notably, the Post-Gazette’s publication location is the same city where Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff delivered his “closing argument” against Trump on issues related to discrimination, coinciding with the anniversary of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting. Emhoff, who played a role in shaping the Biden-Harris administration’s strategy on this topic, faced criticism for allowing a controversial group into the process and failing to prevent concerning incidents in cities and on campuses following the October 7 incident.
Professor Rona Kaufman writes
“I am a lifelong Democrat, a feminist, a progressive, and a Jew.
I marched to Take Back the Night and canvassed for the Sierra Club in college.
I volunteered with a domestic violence shelter as a young lawyer. My children and I donned pink… https://t.co/ip3524kSFG pic.twitter.com/oM83YdhoMc
— Ronen (@RonenStauber) November 2, 2024
While most Jewish voters traditionally lean Democratic, Trump could potentially garner an unprecedented level of support from the Jewish community. Recent data cited in the Jewish Journal suggests that Trump is the preferred choice among Jews who prioritize issues related to security and human rights. For many liberal Jews, however, other concerns take precedence.
Kaufman is not alone in her stance; there are numerous Jewish advocates, notably Phyllis Chesler, who have expressed concerns about the silence of some groups in the aftermath of the October 7 incident, when concerning events occurred in addition to reported acts of violence and other concerning incidents carried out on that day.
