(José Niño, Headline USA) In a candid conversation with media personality Andy Ostroy, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt praised certain aspects of Donald Trump’s policies toward the Jewish community.
During their conversation that took place last Monday, Greenblatt admitted that Trump’s 2016 campaign rhetoric “emboldened extremists”, something that worried the ADL at the time.
However, Greenblatt argued that Trump’s performance in office was more complex, with significant policy initiatives deserving acknowledgment throughout. Greenblatt highlighted that Trump “came to office with a Jewish son-in-law [Jared Kushner] and a Jewish daughter [Ivanka Trump]. That had never happened before. He had Jewish grandchildren inside the residence. That had never happened before.”
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt praises Donald Trump for combatting "anti-Semitism."
Though he "emboldened extremists" during his 2016 campaign, after taking office "he proceeded w/ policies like his executive order in 2019 on anti-Semitism that were precedent making," Greenblatt… pic.twitter.com/vGhTbbQxpJ
— Chris Menahan 🇺🇸 (@infolibnews) July 31, 2025
The ADL chief then praised Trump’s 2019 executive order against anti-Semitism, describing it as “precedent making” for extending protections to Jewish students by expanding the legal interpretation of anti-Semitism on college campuses.
He urged listeners not to oversimplify Trump’s relationship to the Jewish community, noting, “It’s just not as simple and cut and dry as some people might like to say.”
Greenblatt has previously praised the Trump administration’s punitive policies against Harvard University and other universities, for their alleged role in harboring antisemitism.
On CNBC’s Squawk Box in April, Greenblatt stated, “The reality is there are deep, systemic problems, not just at Harvard, but at all of these institutions, and it’s rampant at the faculty lounge, it’s apparent like in the Harvard yard, you can read it in The Crimson. All of it.”
Greenblatt subsequently praised the effectiveness of Trump’s funding threats:
In eighteen months we could not get these university presidents to move effectively enough. That’s why we released our report card. Suddenly, when the Trump administration threatened to pull the funds, they all move.
In previous coverage, Headline USA reported on Greenblatt’s call for online censorship against so-called “Anti-Zionists” after an Egyptian national attacked several pro-Israel activists in Colorado.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
