New Reporting Highlights Eric Hovde’s “History of Invoking Antisemitic Slurs”
MADISON, Wis. — Over the weekend, Haaretz, one of Israel’s leading newspapers, revealed Eric Hovde’s history of using antisemitic slurs and spreading antisemitic conspiracies.
This report comes as Hovde has been facing increasing scrutiny for insulting Wisconsinites, including nursing home residents, single parents, people struggling with their weight, and more.
Read more below:
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Eric Hovde, who has secured the backing of the Republican presidential candidate ahead of his August GOP primary, has used the term ‘shysters’ on numerous occasions and promoted the Great Reset conspiracy theory.
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If Republicans hope to retake the Senate in November, one of the key races will be in Wisconsin where Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin will likely face off against the presumptive Republican nominee Eric Hovde.
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Hovde, however, has previously invoked antisemitic stereotypes regarding “shysters” and repeatedly promoted the “Great Reset” conspiracy theory, noting that “the Davos crowd” are behind it.
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A bank owner originally from Wisconsin, Hovde has been primarily based in California, though has focused his political aspirations on his home state – including an unsuccessful primary run in 2012.
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As the race continues to gain national prominence, however, Hovde’s past comments are sure to receive more attention.
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At a 2023 gathering, for instance, he used the term “shyster” when discussing his great-grandfather’s arrival to the United States and a New Yorker’s alleged attempts to swindle him.
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“They had to buy train tickets because they were heading to a farm in what is the Dakotas … so my great grandfather says ‘I found somebody. If I give him the money, he’ll go arrange the tickets,'” he told a Republican Women of Dane County luncheon.
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“Well, he had to come back, get the money from my great- grandmother. And she said ‘Absolutely not, we will go get the tickets with him.’ Well, guess what? That shyster fled away, so she saved the whole family because they would have been wiped out with no resources in New York City,” he continued.
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While the term “shyster” is not by definition an explicitly antisemitic slur, it is a widely understood dog whistle for which public figures have previously faced criticism and legal action.
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Hovde’s repeated use of the term, however, is not his only foray into language and beliefs that veer into antisemitic terrain.
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Speaking on “The Vicki McKenna Show” in 2022, he said: “The Davos crowd, there’s no question they want the Great Reset. They’re so blatant and open about it, they talk about it now. And they do believe that we want one central world government.”
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He continued that “Larry Fink at BlackRock is involved with the Davos crowd and the Great Reset. You know, people say, ‘Oh, that sounds [like a] conspiracy,’ [but] they’re very open about it and their whole views – and it’s a push toward socialism. It benefits the very elite in a global world order.”
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Hovde claimed he had made business decisions based on the theory, including removing BlackRock funds from his companies’ 401K options while encouraging others to do likewise.
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The Great Reset conspiracy theory first emerged after the World Economic Forum, which organizes the annual Davos conference, announced its Great Reset Initiative in 2020, hoping to reduce global inequality and advance environmental initiatives following the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“The Great Reset conspiracy theorists argued that this announcement was proof that global elites want to use the coronavirus as a tool to reorganize global societies and economies to their benefit at the expense of ordinary people, with the ultimate goal of a global totalitarian regime,” the Anti-Defamation League explained in December 2020.
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The ADL noted that in its most common form, “adherents warn that ‘global elites’ will use the pandemic to advance their interests and push forward a globalist plot to destroy American sovereignty and prosperity. However, there are more outlandish and pernicious strains of the conspiracy, and the adoption of this term ‘Great Reset’ – particularly by mainstream figures with large audiences – creates dangerous opportunities for ordinary Americans to be drawn deeper into the world of conspiracies.”
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The ADL stated that “as is so often the case with conspiracy theories, one can find antisemitic sentiments in the Great Reset, with some believers going so far as to accuse Jews of orchestrating the plot or invoking George Soros and the Rothschild family.”
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One example is a video viewed more than 17,000 times where Adam Green of Know More News asserted that the World Economic Forum is controlled by Jews who are using the Great Reset as part of a plan to “set up a Zionist, Noahide, One World Government according to the prophecies.”
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The Hovde campaign did not respond to a request for comment on his use of the term “shyster,” nor his invocation of the Great Reset conspiracy theory.
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