Bruce Blakeman, the Republican and Trump-endorsed candidate in New York’s gubernatorial election, launched and then doubled down on a nasty attack against Brad Lander (D), the progressive candidate for Congress in the state’s 10th district, this week.
During a Newsmax appearance on Wednesday night, Blakeman and host Bill Spadea were discussing Tuesday’s election victories by progressive candidates in New York. That’s when Blakeman went after Lander.
“And Brad Lander — he’s a disgrace. He’s anti-American, he is anti-Semitic, even though he’s Jewish. This guy would be a camp guard in a concentration camp if he could. He’s a disaster,” Blakeman said.
Blakeman didn’t back down on the comment after the interaction went viral on social media.
“Maybe camp guard was too strong, but certainly a collaborator, as Brad Lander turned his back on the Jewish community,” Blakeman told NY1 on Thursday.
Lander sharply condemned the comments on Thursday.
“If you care about the human rights and freedom and dignity and lives of Palestinians and don’t want to keep sending bombs to kill them, then you’re like a concentration camp guard — that is just Trumpism, that’s just hate, that’s just vile,” Lander told NY1.
Blakeman’s comments also elicited rebukes from high-profile Democrats, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and outgoing Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who is also Jewish.
“I’ve known Brad Lander for years, and he will make an excellent member of Congress. For Bruce Blakeman to invoke the Holocaust to smear a fellow Jewish man is beyond the pale — it is a grotesque desecration of the memory of 6 million Jews. These comments are disqualifying, and they show exactly why Bruce Blakeman must never be governor of New York,” Nadler said.
Hochul, who will face off against Blakeman in the November election, called his comments “absolutely despicable.”
“It just reminds New Yorkers that every single time Bruce Blakeman opens up his mouth, he’s simply auditioning for his next role in the Trump administration after he loses the election,” Hochul said.