NEW YORK – Days before the Republican National Convention kicked off in Milwaukee, and just over 24 hours before the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, Norm Coleman and Matt Brooks, respective chairman and CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, logged on to a call with Trump’s yet-to-be-announced running mate, J.D. Vance, the freshman senator from Ohio.
RJC’s PAC donated more than $36,000 to Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign, according to Open Secrets, a campaign finance watchdog, though an RJC spokesperson said the group’s total donation amount was higher from donor events and other contributions made outside of the PAC.
RJC’s Victory Fund was the Vance campaign’s fourth-largest PAC donor.
On Tuesday night, when Brooks got off the stage after addressing the crowded conventional hall about Trump’s support for Israel and the Jewish community, he received a congratulatory text from Vance.
“Not only is he engaged, he’s paying close attention,” Brooks said of Vance in a phone call on Wednesday with The Jerusalem Post. “We have a great relationship. I will tell you that he’s paying close attention.”
According to Brooks, the response he’s heard about Vance being added to the ticket has been “overwhelmingly supportive and excited.”
“By and large, the reaction here has been incredibly positive,” he added.
Brooks said the Jewish community should be aware that he’s not only an “incredibly vocal supporter of Israel and a great friend in the Senate,” but more importantly, he goes into what Brooks described as “hostile territories,” making the case for Israel at isolationist think tanks that are against United States engagement with Israel and countries around the world.
“He’s gone into these organizations and has given speeches about why they need to be pro-Israel,” Brooks said, referencing remarks Vance delivered in May at the Quincy Institute.
On their Friday call ahead of the convention, Brooks said he, Coleman, and Vance discussed “what’s going on in the world,” and the RJC’s appreciation for Vance.
Vance's schedule all booked up
Brooks and Coleman hoped to have Vance at their events this week, though his schedule is now radically different since accepting the role as Trump’s running mate.
“We have two incredibly pro-Israel candidates at the top of our ticket with president Trump and J.D. Vance, and we’re excited to take that message to the community,” Brooks told the Post.
In his remarks, while holding a red kippah with Trump’s name across it, Brooks said Trump will “bring back law and order so that American Jews can once again wear a kippah and walk the streets without fear.”
This is the first time Brooks addressed the RNC, which he said was an incredible honor and meaningful for the RJC, also sending an important signal to the Jewish community.
Brooks, wearing a yellow ribbon, began his remarks by asking the crowd to cheer if they support Israel, to which he received cheers and applause.
“It’s an important message for the Jewish community to see the resounding, enthusiastic, electrifying support for Israel,” he told the Post, acknowledging how people in the crowd were organically waving Israeli flags.
“Those are people who the overwhelming majority of which weren’t even Jewish,” Brooks said. “That says a lot about Trump’s legacy as being the most pro-Israel president in history, the amount of enthusiasm that creates within our party.
He added, “Everyone is totally on board.”