<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Jewish and Muslim groups condemned President Trump for calling Senator Chuck Schumer “a Palestinian,” saying that the president used the term as a racial slur.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Trump made the comments on Wednesday at a meeting in the Oval Office with <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/us/politics/takeaways-ireland-martin-trump-tariffs.html" title="">Micheál Martin</a>, the prime minister of Ireland. A reporter asked Mr. Trump about tax cuts, and Mr. Trump responded by criticizing Democrats and then focused on Mr. Schumer, the minority leader and the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the United States.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I’m concerned. He’s become a Palestinian,” Mr. Trump said. “He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Nihad Awad, the national executive director of CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United States, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-says-trumps-use-of-palestinian-as-racial-slur-is-beneath-the-dignity-of-his-office/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">said in a statement</a> that Mr. Trump’s use of the term “Palestinian” as a racial slur was offensive and “beneath the dignity of his office.” He added that Mr. Trump’s comments contributed to the “dehumanization of the Palestinian people.”</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights antisemitism, said that using “Palestinian” as a slur and deciding who is and is not Jewish was unacceptable. “Instead of weaponizing people’s identity, use the power of the bully pulpit to bring the American people together,” the group said in <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://x.com/ADL/status/1899943904423629258" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">a statement</a>.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Halie Soifer, chief executive of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said Mr. Trump’s comments were “abhorrent” and showed why many Jewish voters did not support Mr. Trump. “His rhetoric, agenda, and alignment with right-wing extremists are endangering American Jews,” <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://x.com/HalieSoifer/status/1899950498603491690" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">she wrote</a> on social media.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Trump’s comments came after Senate Democrats said on Wednesday that they would not back a Republican bill to fund the government through the end of September, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/us/politics/government-shutdown-funding-bill-senate-democrats.html" title="">raising the chances of a government shutdown</a> at the end of the week.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Mr. Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="RelatedLinksBlock-3"><div data-testid="lazy-loader"></div></div>