The Washington Examiner: Poll: Jews Reject Trump 74%-26% Despite Outreach, Will Vote for Dems

October 17, 2018

By Paul Bedard

President Trump has seen no bump in support from Jewish voters since his election despite his efforts to rebuild U.S.-Israel relations, move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, double economic growth and assign his son-in-law to develop a new Mideast Peace Plan.

A newly released poll said that if the presidential election were to be held now, Trump would get 26 percent of the Jewish vote, with 74 percent going to the Democrat. 

An equal among of Jews plan to vote for Democrats in the upcoming congressional election.

When asked about several issues, the only one that Jewish voters gave Trump a positive response on was U.S.-Israel relations, but by a hair, 51 percent to 49 percent. Only 44 percent gave a thumbs up for his embassy move.

The  Mellman Group survey  said that Jewish voters are much harsher in their view of Trump than the general public. “Overall just 25 percent of American Jews approve of the job Trump is doing as president, while 75 percent disapprove. Here too Jews prove far more hostile to Trump than the population at large. On average, about 43 percent of Americans overall approve of the job the president is doing, while 53 percent disapprove,” said the poll conducted for Jewish Electorate Institute. 

One reason for their dismissal of Trump is that 64 percent of Jews consider themselves liberal.

The survey is sure to surprise many considering the president’s outreach to Israel and Jewish voters. For example, he has asked Jared Kushner to build a new peace plan and just this week his son Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend and  Trump surrogate Kimberly Guilfoyle  attended a Republican Jewish Coalition where she received applause for her list of Trump achievements in Israel. 

In 2016, Trump won just 24 percent of the Jewish vote and reports said that Jews chose Hillary Rodham Clinton over Trump more than any other voting group.

And in 2020 they like Joe Biden even more than they liked former President Obama. 

The bottom line, said the survey:

“American Jews remain fiercely loyal to the Democratic Party, which they see as pro-Israel and also as representing their views on a wide range of issues, both foreign and domestic. They offer negative assessments of President Trump and nearly all his policies, and prioritize domestic issues in deciding which candidate to support. Jews will once again be voting for Democrats in overwhelming numbers next month.”

POLITICO: The DNC is meeting — and Israel is at the forefront once again

April 10, 2026
Democrats’ internal feud over Israel is rearing its head on the party’s biggest stage — again.  Critics of Israel’s military actions and the pro-Israel lobby’s interference in recent Democratic primaries are setting up thorny test votes at the Democratic National Committee’s spring meeting in New Orleans on Thursday, where members will debate resolutions recognizing a Palestinian state, conditioning military aid to Israel and condemning the “growing influence” of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other dark-money groups.

Survey Shows Most U.S. Jews Are Not Following Pro-Israel Spending In ’26 Primaries And Are Divided On Its Value

April 7, 2026
To: Jewish Electorate Institute From: The Mellman Group Re: Survey Shows Most U.S. Jews Are Not Following Pro-Israel Spending In ’26 Primaries And Are Divided On Its Value Date: April 6, 2026 

U.S. JEWS IDENTIFY AS BOTH PRO-ISRAEL & CRITICAL OF ITS GOV’T

April 7, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: info@jewishelectorateinstitute.org TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2026 202-695-0531 U.S. JEWS IDENTIFY AS BOTH PRO-ISRAEL & CRITICAL OF ITS GOV’T Jewish Repub’s, Indi’s Support Pro-Israel Spending in Primaries; Dems Less So AIPAC popular among R’s, not as much among D’s; DMFI better liked by D’s WASHINGTON – As the Democratic National Committee sets to convene in New Orleans this week and consider resolutions on Israel and its AIPAC lobby, a new poll for the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI) finds the majority of American Jews identifies as both pro-Israel and critical of the Israeli Government. There is limited awareness of the spending by pro-Israel groups in the 2026 primaries, with only one in ten saying they have heard a great deal about it. Attitudes split on partisan lines with majorities of independent and Republican Jews supporting this spending, while a plurality of Democrats is opposed. But still, the majority of Democrats are either not sure or supportive, the poll finds. These are among the top findings of a survey of registered Jews nationally for the JEI by The Mellman Group, several others of which were released last week before Passover. A fuller release of all its findings will come on Friday, after the holiday ends. Further, attitudes about AIPAC and DMFI, the pro-Israel groups spending the most in these primaries, are also split on partisan lines, with AIPAC slightly underwater among Democrats, and popular among Republicans. DMFI is less known but better liked among Democrats. J Street’s numbers are relatively even but measurably smaller. This analysis is based on the findings of a survey of 800 registered Jewish voters nationally. The survey was conducted for JEI by The Mellman Group using a high-quality online national panel from March 13-23, 2026. The margin of error for the sample as a whole is +/-3.5% at the 95% level of confidence (higher for subgroups). Majority of U.S. Jews Identifies as Both Pro-Israel and Critical of Israeli Policies An overwhelming 86% of American Jews describe themselves as generally pro-Israel. However, fewer than one-quarter (23%) say they are both pro-Israel and supportive of Israeli policies. A 63% majority identifies as pro-Israel and critical of the Israeli government policies – split roughly equally between those who are critical of some policies (32%) and those critical of many (31%). Just a combined 14% say they are not generally pro-Israel (9%) or do not hold a view (5%). This trend is not dissimilar to one in the JEI poll that shows Jews are also generally patriotic towards America but also critical of some government policies, numbers for which will be released Friday.  While pro-Israel sentiment extends across party (84% of Democrats, 90% of independents, 94% of Republicans), Democrats are considerably more likely to be critical of Israeli policies (73% critical) than independents (44%) and Republicans (39%).