Conservative pundit Ann Coulter was the target of heated online backlash on Thursday, a day after she tweeted what many perceived as an anti-Semitic post during the second Republican debate.
Coulter, who has made a career out of being fairly derisive, criticized the focus on Israel during the debate Wednesday night, first cracking a joke about Mike Huckabee running for prime minister of Israel.
“Cruz, Huckabee Rubio all mentioned ISRAEL in their response to: “What will AMERICA look like after you are president,” Coulter wrote. “How many [expletive] Jews do these people think there are in the United States?”
On Thursday the tweet was headline news, forcing Coulter to defend herself.
“@AnnCoulter you’re a horrible [expletive] idiot,” comedian Seth Rogen tweeted early Thursday.
For her part, Coulter tried to explain the tweet by saying she was simply complaining about the candidates pandering to voters.
“I like the Jews, I like fetuses, I like Reagan. Didn’t need to hear applause lines about them all night,” she then wrote, later adding: “Boy were they wrong @ Jewish influence! I complained about pandering on Israel (Reagan & abortion) & haven’t heard a thing about it!”
The Anti-Defamation League said the tweets were a new low for Coulter.
“Ms. Coulter is pandering to the basest of her base,” ADL National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “Her messages challenging the candidates’ support for Israel were offensive, ugly, spiteful and anti-Semitic. Her tweets give fodder to those who buy into the anti-Semitic notions that Jews “control” the U.S. government, wield disproportionate power in politics, and are more loyal to Israel than to their own country.”
(With Felipe De La Hoz)
