US President Donald Trump speaks during the first 2020 presidential campaign debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, held on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic, at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Brian Snyder.

i24 News – Speaking at a conference of Orthodox Jews, Donald Trump avoided addressing a widely criticized private meal he shared last month with Kanye West, a rapper spewing antisemitic conspiracies, and a Holocaust-denying white supremacist from the star’s entourage.

The former president instead heaped praise on the Jewish people and highlighted his support for Israel as he addressed the annual President’s Conference of Torah Umesorah at his National Doral club in Miami, repeatedly telling the audience he was “the best ally you’ve ever had.” He alleged Congress was “almost anti-Israel” and insisted that some Democrats in Washington “hate Israel with a passion.”

The 76-year-old Republican faced pointed criticism from across the political spectrum after hosting last month Holocaust-denying white supremacist Nick Fuentes and West at his Florida resort home. Shortly after the meeting, West, who now goes by the moniker Ye, said, “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.“

Trump, who earlier this month lashed out angrily against criticism of his meeting with the controversial figures, also quoted his own 2019 State of the Union address in which he highlighted the importance of speaking out against antisemitism.

“We must never ignore the vile poison of antisemitism or those who spread its venomous creed,” Trump said, reading from his own remarks. “With one voice we must confront this hatred; we must confront it everywhere; we must confront it very, very strongly.”