Donald Trump Jr. compares Syrian refugees to Skittles
Donald Trump Jr., the son of Republican nominee Donald Trump, tweeted out a graphic Monday night that compared Syrian refugees to Skittles.
“If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful?” the graphic asked. “That’s our Syrian refugee problem.”
Trump Jr. added, in text above the graphic, “This image says it all.”
Trump’s father, Donald Trump, has strongly opposed allowing Syrian refugees into the United States, first proposing a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. and then changing that ban to be for people from “areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe, or our allies.”
See the tweet:
This image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first. #trump2016 pic.twitter.com/9fHwog7ssN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 19, 2016
Skittles’ maker, Wrigley Americas, disagreed with the assertion that “the image says it all.” It didn’t like the comparison and failed to see the similarities between the brightly colored candy and refugees.
Wrigley Americas issued a statement to CBS News saying, “Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don’t feel it’s an appropriate analogy. We will respectfully refrain from further commentary as anything we say could be misinterpreted as marketing.”
Trump’s campaign issued a statement defending Donald Trump Jr. as “a tremendous asset to the campaign.”
“America has become less safe under Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Clinton’s planned 550% increase in Syrian refugees is a dangerous proposal that will put American lives at risk,” said senior communications adviser Jason Miller. “Speaking the truth might upset those who would rather be politically correct than safe, but the American people want a change, and only Donald Trump will do what’s needed to protect us.”
Last week, Trump Jr. caused controversy when he suggested the media have helped Hillary Clinton by letting her “slide” on “every lie,” adding that if Republicans did the same, the media would be “warming up the gas chamber” for them. Nazi Germany used gas chambers during the Holocaust to kill millions of Jews and others, and gas chambers are now often used in Holocaust references.
Many on social media had a strong reaction to Trump Jr.’s Skittles tweet, with more than 65,000 tweets mentioning the top trending topic as of 11:30 p.m.
See some of the reactions below:
Oh and human beings fleeing oppression and terror aren't skittles. https://t.co/wXK24wvurK
— John Legend (@johnlegend) September 20, 2016
People aren't skittles.
— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) September 20, 2016
And skittles aren't people that get vetted for months running for safety.
How dare you. https://t.co/lgYdZnTdtj
These aren't Skittles, @DonaldJTrumpJr. pic.twitter.com/h8DXvdFtVM
— Jason Sparks (@sparksjls) September 20, 2016
Liberals are more upset about Skittles than this weekend's terrorist attack in NYC and NJ. We're truly living in an Idiocracy.
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) September 20, 2016
Hey @DonaldJTrumpJr, this is one of the millions of children you compared to a poisoned Skittle today: https://t.co/SDSGw0eUIP pic.twitter.com/HuhY9RGvWW
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 20, 2016
Even if we did bring in a few bad Skittles - and there's no evidence we do - you take that risk to save these Skittles, you monstrous dope. pic.twitter.com/KpA7Mnl8Nm
— Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) September 20, 2016