The fact that influencers and online personalities are entering American politics is no longer surprising — certainly not when the president of the United States himself came to the White House from a reality TV show. But Dan Bilzerian is not just another influencer, and his decision to run for Congress should raise serious concern. The man who said a year ago that he wants “to kill Israelis” has 30 million followers on Instagram and more than 2 million on Twitter, and feeds them a steady stream of antisemitism, anti-Israel rhetoric and toxic conspiracy theories.
Bilzerian regularly posts views such as “Jewish supremacy is the biggest threat to the world today,” casts doubt on the number of Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and shares content from neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes. Now he hopes that all of this will carry him to the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Antisemitic Instagram influencer Dan Bilzerian is running for Congress
(Photo: Reuters)
The 45-year-old registered last week as a candidate in the Republican primary in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, where he will face incumbent Rep. Randy Fine, who is Jewish and associated with the far right.
In an interview with TMZ after announcing his candidacy, Bilzerian was asked whether calling Fine a “fat Jew” was antisemitic. “Antisemitism is kind of a made-up term. I think Palestinians are the real Semites,” he replied. When asked whether Hitler was antisemitic, he did not answer directly: “Like I said, the term focuses only on Jews, but the real Semites are Arabs, and Palestinians are Semites too. In fact, they have more DNA lineage tied to that region than any Ashkenazi Jew from Eastern Europe who took it from them.”
The war with Iran has accelerated, in a troubling way, processes that have been unfolding for years within the Republican Party, in which openly neo-Nazi figures, Holocaust deniers and unapologetic antisemites are becoming a significant political force. Bilzerian said Donald Trump should be impeached over his “Israel First” policy, which he says contradicts his “America First” campaign promise. Of his Jewish rival Fine, Bilzerian said he should be tried for treason for “putting Israel before America.”
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Dan Bilzerian built his image empire around a lavish, hedonistic lifestyle
(Photo: Getty Images)
Like many dubious influencers who have suddenly decided their political views matter, Bilzerian has tapped into a profitable model in the Trump era. Known to his fans as the “King of Instagram,” he built an image empire around a lavish, hedonistic lifestyle. His content regularly features swimsuit models, massive gun collections, private jets, yachts and exotic destinations.
Bilzerian has long claimed that he made his fortune — estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars — as a professional poker player in private games with billionaires. However, many professional poker players dispute these claims, arguing that his skill level does not match the winnings he boasts about.
'Give me a gun and send me to kill Israelis'
His father, Paul Bilzerian, was a Wall Street businessman who went bankrupt, was convicted of fraud in the 1980s and served time in prison. Dan Bilzerian himself enlisted in the U.S. military and attempted to join the elite Navy SEALs, but was dropped shortly before completing training. That did not stop him from adopting a military-style image as part of his brand. That persona largely collapsed during the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, when he filmed himself fleeing rather than staying to help.
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During the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, when he filmed himself fleeing rather than staying to help
(Photo: AFP)
In the months following the October 7 massacre, Bilzerian increasingly focused his rhetoric on Israel and Jews. “Who causes most of the problems in the world?” he asked his followers in a poll. They overwhelmingly chose “16 million Jews.” Last year, he asked followers whether Hitler was a “good person,” a “terrible person,” or if they did not know. One-third of 178,000 respondents said Hitler was a “good person,” while another 23% said they did not know.
In an interview with conservative commentator Piers Morgan, when asked how many Jews he believes were murdered in the Holocaust, Bilzerian said: “I don’t know, but I’d be willing to bet it’s less than six million.” He also told Morgan that Judaism inherently promotes “Jewish supremacy. Israel is an expression of that religion, and I think that religion is terrible.”
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Claims he made his fortune — estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars — as a pro poker player in private games with billionaires
(Photo: AP)
Bilzerian has also promoted the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, which claims that Jews are advancing an anti-white agenda aimed at replacing white populations with nonwhite immigrants. He has repeated another common antisemitic trope — that “Jews knew about the 9/11 attacks” — and said he supports the destruction of Israel: “Give me a gun and send me there to kill Israelis. I truly believe most of that country is evil.”
Bilzerian is not the only anti-Israel Republican challenging Fine, a strong supporter of Israel who has received backing from the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC and previously said that Muslims are inferior to dogs. Another candidate, Aaron Baker, criticized Bilzerian for running in the 6th District rather than Florida’s 16th District, where he grew up. “He should have run there to make AIPAC spend more money,” Baker wrote on Twitter