Donald Trump Slams ‘Sleepy Eyes’ Chuck Todd, Perhaps Inadvertently Uses Antisemitic Slur
Donald Trump slammed NBC News‘ Chuck Todd for spreading “Fake News” about North Korea, calling him “sleepy eyes” and, in the process, using an antisemitic slur.
As Washington Examiner reports, Trump used Twitter on Sunday morning to take exception to remarks made by Todd, host of NBC’s long-running news panel show, Meet the Press.
In the past week, North Korea has dominated the news cycles, as the secretive Asian regime has agreed to end its nuclear program, and has opened up a direct line of communication with its longtime enemy, South Korea. Meanwhile, the regime has also agreed to direct talks between Trump and North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un.
Todd suggested that the gains made with regard toward North Korea don’t go nearly far enough.
“What has the United States gotten yet? We don’t have a release of any of those Americans that they held captive, we don’t have a pledge of denuclearization as the ultimate goal. There’s a lot of things they are not promising that is raising some red flags.”
What’s more, Todd said that Trump’s repeated boasting about the progress he’s made is actually much ado about not a lot.
“[Kim] seems to be giving very little but making it seem like he’s giving a lot.”
***BREAKING*** Kim Jong Un SUSPENDS missile tests, shuts nuclear facilities… https://t.co/Xf7l2I1c86
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) April 20, 2018
In a Sunday morning tweet, Trump took exception to Todd’s take on the events.
Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake News NBC just stated that we have given up so much in our negotiations with North Korea, and they have given up nothing. Wow, we haven’t given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2018
Trump may have chosen his words poorly.
According to Empty Lighthouse, the term “Sleepy Eyes” originated in Nazi Germany. Specifically, it was disseminated in anti-Jewish propaganda meant to teach Germans how to “spot a Jew.” To this day, white supremacist website Stormfront uses the term throughout its website, including in instructions on how to spot Jews.
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Chuck Todd is Jewish.
Yes, the President is using an antisemitic slur… https://t.co/hPR53IDAdp
— Bill Prady (@billprady) April 22, 2018
“Sleepy eyes” is a Nazi stereotype about how to identify Jews.
The leader of the Republican Party is openly using antisemitic slurs against American Jews. His party stands behind him.
Supporting Republicans is a moral stain for which you ought be banished from polite company.
— (((Barak))) (@ThunderJew1775) April 22, 2018
In fact, Trump has used the term “sleepy eyes” to describe or refer to Todd over a dozen times over the years, according to a 2017 Entertainment Weekly report.
Whether or not Trump has ever intended to use the term as an antisemitic insult is not clear, and indeed, such a thing is impossible to know unless Trump specifically admits or denies it.
In fact, whether or not Trump is himself antisemitic is both unclear and a matter of opinion. However, as The L.A. Times reported in February, 2017, anti-semitism is on the rise in the United States since Trump’s election, and Trump has been “silent” about it.
