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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Bonnie Malkin

Donald Trump Jr compares Syrian refugees to poisoned Skittles

The tweet has been criticised for dehumanising and demonising refugees from Syria.
Donald Trump Jr’s tweet has been criticised for dehumanising and demonising refugees from Syria. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

Donald Trump Jr has used a Twitter post to liken Syrian refugees to poisoned Skittles and suggest that America should not accept any.

The tweet sparked outrage on social media, with some users posting harrowing images of Syrians caught up in the civil war juxtaposed with the word Skittles.

Jon Favreau, Barack Obama’s former speechwriter, was scathing.

Reza Aslan, the religious scholar and author, did not mince his words.

The singer John Legend was similarly unimpressed.

In a series of tweets, Clara Jeffery, the editor-in-chief of the website Mother Jones, lambasted Trump Jr and contrasted his comments with her mother’s efforts to help refugees from the Cambodian genocide:

Apart from being controversial, the tweet is not actually original. Joe Walsh, the former congressman and rightwing talk show host whose statements have been criticized as incendiary, has voiced similar ideas.

As well as the content of the tweet, some people took issue with Trump Jr’s grammar.

Some came with the facts.

And others responded with humour.

One Twitter user has suggested how Wrigley, the company that owns Skittles, could respond.

A spokeswoman for Wrigley later told the Guardian that Trump Jnr’s analogy was inappropriate.

“Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don’t feel it is an appropriate analogy,” she said.

“We will respectfully refrain from further commentary as anything we say could be misinterpreted as marketing.”

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