WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on Vladimir Putin’s comments this weekend that Russian Jews were responsible for Russia’s interference in the United States election:
“Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to scapegoat Jews, in an effort to deflect responsibility for his country’s campaign to disrupt our elections, is reprehensible. It speaks to anti-Semitic tropes that have spurred intolerance and ethnic violence for centuries, and it is disturbing that this type of anti-Semitism has seen a recent resurgence among populist, far-right leaders around the world. That President Trump has failed to condemn Putin’s statement, just as he equivocated on Charlottesville, undermines America’s moral responsibility to combat the kind of racism and anti-Semitism perniciously reemerging today. I call on President Trump to speak out against Putin’s statement and make clear that the United States will not allow Russia to hide its role in trying to influence the outcome of our elections.”