Letter Denouncing Trump National Golf Club Bedminster for Hosting neo-Nazi

The Jewish Democratic Council of America New Jersey Chapter representatives and local leaders from the state condemned Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey for hosting multiple events and speeches from a neo-Nazi, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli. The full text of the letter as signed and delivered to Rep. Tom Kean Jr. is available below.

Dear Congressman Tom Kean, Jr.; 

Last week, NPR reported the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey hosted multiple events and speeches from a neo-Nazi, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who fuels antisemitism and was convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Federal prosecutors described Hale-Cusanelli as a “white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer,” who previously said “Hitler should have finished the job” and has repeatedly used antisemitic slurs. 

Former President Donald Trump not only allowed this Nazi sympathizer to attend events at his golf club in Bedminster, but went a step further by explicitly endorsing the event. The former President filmed a video greeting played during the event, saying “all the people there,” including Hale-Cusanelli, were “amazing patriots.” 

As the Congressman who represents Bedminster, we are extremely troubled that you have not done the bare minimum by condemning these unacceptable actions by the former President. 

Hale-Cusanelli is a man who wears a Hitler mustache and has described Jewish people as a “plague of locusts.” This is a man who has threatened the physical safety of a Jewish resident of New Jersey by publishing his address and saying he would come to his house on the Sabbath. 

And since this news has come out, you – who publicly endorsed Donald Trump for President – have been silent. 

In this country, we are watching a terrifying rise in hate against Jewish people – with antisemitic incidents at record levels across the country and steeply rising in New Jersey. Jewish Americans are looking to our leaders to speak out – to show us that our leaders will stand up for our safety and our dignity, not remain silent as we face vile hate. 

We, a coalition of Jewish organizations, elected officials, and constituents across New Jersey, are calling on you to disavow Donald Trump for promoting and uplifting a neo-Nazi who rules antisemitism in your own district. 

And this is not the first time – nor will it be the last – that Trump has engaged in dangerous antisemitism. In 2017, he equated neo-Nazis with peaceful protestors, proclaiming there were “very fine people, on both sides.” In 2022, he had dinner at another Trump golf club with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist. In this election, he has claimed that the more than 70% of Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats are “fools” who should “have their head examined” and “hate their religion.” And just this month, he said Jewish voters would be to blame if he loses the presidential election. 

You have been silent on Trump’s antisemitic ties and rhetoric for far too long. Even knowing all of this, you still chose to endorse him for President. And now, Trump is hosting Nazi sympathizers at events in your district – calling the safety and security of your Jewish constituents into question. 

We are asking you to immediately denounce Trump and the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster for hosting and promoting a blatantly antisemitic speaker and event. 

Sincerely, 

Jeff Grayzel, JDCA New Jersey Chapter co-lead 

Rabbi Ben Kelsen, JDCA New Jersey Chapter co-lead 

Darcy Grabenstein, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action South Jersey 

Justin Goldsman, NJDSC Jewish Caucus