Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Tuesday joined the growing calls for President Donald Trump to condemn a spate of anti-Semitic hate crimes in recent weeks.
Clinton tweeted that Trump “must speak out” against the “troubling” attacks.
Later Tuesday morning, Trump briefly mentioned the incidents during a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
“Anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish communities and our Jewish Community Centers are horrible, and are painful,” Trump said.
Anti-Semitic hate crimes have been on the rise, according to multiple organizations that track such incidents. They’re part of a larger spike in racist and bigoted attacks that have occurred since Trump began his presidential campaign.
On Monday alone, nearly a dozen Jewish community centers across the country received threatening phone calls. And a Jewish cemetery in the St. Louis area was vandalized over the weekend.
At a news conference last week, Trump criticized a Jewish reporter for asking about the increase in threats, and then claimed he was the “least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life.”
The president was also asked about the topic during a separate news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He responded by boasting about winning the Electoral College.
This article has been updated with Trump’s comments from Tuesday morning.
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