Anti-Defamation League to Trump: Your 'America First' slogan has anti-Semitic roots

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is asking Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump to stop using his new slogan due to its history as a rallying cry for anti-Semites.

The Hill reported Thursday that the slogan was common among U.S. anti-Semites who wanted the nation to stay out of World War II prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941.

“For many Americans, the term ‘America First’ will always be associated with and tainted by this history. In a political season that already has prompted a national conversation about civility and tolerance, choosing a call to action historically associated with incivility and intolerance seems ill-advised,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a statement.

Trump repeatedly used the phrase during his widely-panned foreign policy speech on Wednesday. Critics say that Trump may be unaware of the origins of "America First," but caution that the phrase evokes one of the darker hours in U.S. history.