This interview is part of Moment’s Jewish Political Voices Project. To learn more about the project, click here. To see our other participants, click here. To see all posts from Ushi, click here.
Age: 26
Occupation: President & Founder, Sky High PR
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Party Registration: Republican
Jewish Denomination: Orthodox
2020 Vote: Donald Trump
Current 2024 Vote: Undecided
The last time we spoke, you had not made up your mind on who you will vote for on Election Day. Have you made a choice?
I have decided that I’m voting for Trump. It’s painful what’s happening in this country. People get carried away, especially the media. It’s always another Trump conviction, another Trump trial, Trump at another courthouse. That’s not what the country should be looking at. We should look at how our bank accounts are doing, how is our safety in our cities, how is inflation doing? Can you pay your taxes this year? That’s much more important. It used to be that the media used to talk about substance issues, what matters to the working class. And now, it’s all about Donald Trump at another courthouse. It pisses me off tremendously. I’m very shaken about what’s happening in the 2024 cycle.
Among the legal cases against Trump is the one involving his efforts to derail the results of the 2020 election and return to the White House even though he lost to Biden. That goes top the foundations of our democracy—respecting the will of the majority of voters. Does that bother you?
It definitely does concern me. But there is due process, and whatever happens happens. But I go back to how we’re not talking about issues that affect the people. I’m not an attorney. I’m not going to weigh on the legal questions, but I can tell you what bothers me as a voter in New York City.
Has President Biden handled Gaza and Israel in a satisfactory manner?
Biden has no strategy for how to handle the situation. He flip-flops every day. One day he says go into Rafah, another day he says stay out of Rafah. I think his stance on Israel over the past couple of months has changed dramatically. I am utterly worried what’s happening in this country. And what’s happening to Israel, the strongest ally of the United States in the region. what the President should focus on is more on the future of Gaza, and let Israel end the war quickly. The U.S. should work more aggressively to get the hostages back home. The United States has a lot of political leverage in the Middle East, especially with countries like Jordan, Qatar, and countries like that. They definitely could leverage more pressure on them to get the hostages home, because every day is like a year for them.
Do you think Trump would do a better job if he is elected?
I think Trump’s foreign policy was much, much better. Countries didn’t want to do anything aggressive to their neighbors, because they knew that Trump doesn’t play games.Trump has much better negotiating skills than Biden.
What’s the atmosphere like in your community in Brooklyn?
The community that I live in voted for Donald Trump, I would say 80 percent. And now I think it’s going to be at that same percentage, more or less. They see safety as a major issue. And the economy is something that our community thinks about a lot. They feel that President Trump had a much stronger economy than President Biden. Inflation affects a lot of families, especially a lot of large families. It’s much tougher these days than it was. I don’t see anyone changing their mind and voting for Biden.
What did you make of the candidate’s performances at the first debate?
Biden should be replaced immediately for the sake of the country. I was very surprised at his condition, because I watched the State of the Union. He was very good. He was on board.
He was on target. He was on his game. But this time he looked very bad. You can see something is up with him. His eyes, his face. He looked very tired. He looked like he didn’t even belong up there. It didn’t look presidential at all. He looked like he should have been in a nursing home.