Donald Trump responds to criticism about controversial tweet
Donald Trump on Monday defended himself against claims of anti-Semitism, saying a controversial tweet he sent over the weekend depicting Hillary Clinton with a Star of David could have been "a Sheriff's Star, or plain star."
Trump sent his tweet Saturday morning, saying "Crooked Hillary makes history." It appeared to be photoshopped from multiple places, including a graphic from a Fox News poll and scattered hundred-dollar bills.
Next to Hillary Clinton, there is a red, six-pointed Star of David -- a Jewish religious symbol -- that reads, "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!"
The tweet was deleted later that day, with a red circle replacing the Star of David in one of Trump's subsequent tweets.
On Sunday, the news site Mic reported that the image Trump initially tweeted out appears to have come from a message board frequented by neo-Nazis and white supremacists. The image of Clinton with the Star of David showed up in /pol/, an online message board, as early as June 22. Before that, it had appeared on the Twitter account of a self-described comedian who dabbles in racist imagery.
That's more than a week before Trump sent his tweet featuring the image. (The thread where the image appeared no longer exists, but can be viewed as it originally appeared using an archive website.)
Trump's tweet Monday was the first time he or his campaign has responded to criticism over the post.
In a statement, Clinton campaign Jewish outreach director Sarah Bard said Trump's use of the image should "give voters major cause for concern."
"Donald Trump's use of a blatantly anti-Semitic image from racist websites to promote his campaign would be disturbing enough, but the fact that it's a part of a pattern should give voters major cause for concern," she said. "Now, not only won't he apologize for it, he's peddling lies and blaming others."
Firing back, Trump said in a statement that Clinton is just trying to "divert attention" from her own bad headlines.
"These false attacks by Hillary Clinton trying to link the Star of David with a basic star, often used by sheriffs who deal with criminals and criminal behavior, showing an inscription that says 'Crooked Hillary is the most corrupt candidate ever' with anti-Semitism is ridiculous," he said.
Trump's social media manager, Dan Scavino, also issued a statement Monday night denying he had gotten the image from an anti-Semitic site.
"The social media graphic used this weekend was not created by the campaign nor was it sourced from an anti-Semitic site," he wrote. "It was lifted from an anti-Hillary Twitter user where countless images appear. The sheriff's badge--which is available under Microsoft's "shapes"--fit with the theme of corrupt Hillary and that is why I selected it. As the Social Media Director for the campaign, I would never offend anyone and therefore chose to remove the image."
