(JTA) – President Donald Trump denounced antisemitism a day after bomb threats to at least 10 Jewish community centers across the country and a large-scale cemetery vandalism in the St. Louis area.

Under pressure to condemn antisemitism in the wake of what has been called an uptick in incidents since he was elected, Trump told MSNBC on Tuesday morning, “Antisemitism is horrible and it’s going to stop, and it has to stop.”

The president made the remarks at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., after taking a tour. His daughter Ivanka was with him on the tour; a day earlier she had called for the protection of religious institutions and used the hashtag #JCC, and called on her father to do the same. Asked by reporter Craig Melvin if his statement meant he was denouncing antisemitism “once and for all,” Trump replied: “Of course, and I do it whenever I get the chance to do it.”

Trump later told Melvin in a one-on-one interview about the racial divide in America that the tour was “a meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms. The antisemitic threats targeting our Jewish community and our Jewish community centers are horrible, are painful and they are a reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil.”

Trump’s remark came a day after Jewish groups across the political spectrum called on him to condemn the wave of bomb threats called into Jewish community centers over the past five weeks. Since Jan. 9 there have been 69 bomb threat incidents at 54 JCCs in 27 states and one Canadian province. All were hoaxes.

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt applauded a tweet by First Daughter Ivanka Trump in which she called for the protection of Jewish institutions and used the hashtag #JCC. Greenblatt called on her father to do the same.

“Glad to see this. All Jews need to urge @POTUS to step forward & share a plan. His words carry weight. His actions will speak even louder,” Greenblatt’s tweet said.

In a statement issued from the ADL in the wake of Monday’s bomb threats on JCCs in 11 cities Greenblatt said without mentioning Trump by name: “We look to our political leaders at all levels to speak out against such threats directed against Jewish institutions, to make it clear that such actions are unacceptable, and to pledge that they will work with law enforcement officials to ensure that those responsible will be apprehended and punished to the full extent of the law.”

In an open letter to President Donald Trump posted on the American Jewish Committee’s website and published in the Huffington Post and Times of Israel news websites, AJC CEO David Harris and Publications Director Lawrence Grossman called on Trump to “condemn what has often been called ‘the oldest hatred’ – antisemitisim – and unleash the power of government to match deeds with words.”

They also said: “President Trump, you are a real estate developer from one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, and, as you like to say, the least antisemitisim person around. Again, you proudly speak of the Jewish members of your immediate family. Yet, until now at least, you won’t comment on the threats that ultimately menace them every bit as much as the rest of us.”

“Isn’t it time that you speak up, loud and clear, including against those who may have totally misconstrued your call to ‘make America great again’ and ‘put America first’ as invitations to turn against one another?”

Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, who has been a continuous supporter of the president, told the Israeli daily Haaretz in an article published early on Tuesday that Trump should issue a statement denouncing the threats.

“President Trump should come out as soon as possible against these phone threats and make it clear that we in America will not tolerate this kind of disgraceful hatred toward Jews,” said Klein in an interview from Israel, where he is participating a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder called on elected officials at all levels to speak out against the antisemitic incidents such as the bomb threats, in a statement issued hours after they were made public.

“We sincerely hope that there will be a strong and decisive reaction by the authorities at all political levels to combat it. This is not merely a problem for the Jewish community, it’s a problem for America as a whole,” Lauder said. “It is equally important that political leaders in Washington and on the state and local levels speak out and condemn such vile acts. I know that President Trump and his administration will take all necessary steps on the federal level to address this problem,” he added.

On Monday afternoon the White House responded to a query about the latest string of bomb threats called in to Jewish community centers, posed by NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander, by saying “Hatred and hate-motivated violence of any kind have no place in a country founded on the promise of individual freedom. The President has made it abundantly clear that these actions are unacceptable.”

The statement did not specify that the threats targeted Jewish institutions, although it came in reply to a query about threats to JCCs. Alexander posted Walter’s response on Twitter, adding, “responds to my request for comment about wave of threats to Jewish community centers.”

Last week, Trump was asked during a news conference about the prior JCC bomb threats and what the government’s response would be to “an uptick in antisemitism.” Although the reporter did not suggest Trump was antisemitic, the president answered by denying he is an antisemite and called the question “insulting.”

On Tuesday morning, Trump’s opponent in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, in a tweet called on Trump to condemn antisemitism. “JCC threats, cemetery desecration & online attacks are so troubling & they need to be stopped. Everyone must speak out, starting w/@POTUS,” she wrote.