WASHINGTON _ A campaign imbroglio over another Donald Trump tweet _ this one invoking imagery said by his detractors to be anti-Semitic _ made its way onto one of the Sunday network news shows.
Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Trump's recently fired campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, disputed any anti-Semitic connotation. He attributed the criticism to "political correctness run amok."
At issue was a tweet from Trump on Saturday that depicted a photo of Hillary Clinton, superimposed over $100 bills, with a six-pointed red star bordering these words: "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!"
The same image had been posted anonymously earlier on a message board that features a litany of falsehoods, crude insults and anti-Jewish hatred. Mic.com first reported on the message board post.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, deleted his tweet a couple of hours later without explanation and replaced it with an image that swapped the star for a simple circle.
He had come under swift criticism from, among others, Erick Erikson, a conservative Atlanta radio host and blogger who memorably disinvited Trump from a Republican event last August.
"A Star of David, a pile of cash, and suggestions of corruption. Donald Trump again plays to the white supremacists," Erickson tweeted on Friday.
Asked for comment by CNN, Lewandowski said that Trump's original message was "a simple tweet," adding:
"You can read into things that are not there. This is a simple star. ... It's the same star that sheriff's departments across the country use all over the place to represent law enforcement."
Lewandowski, who departed Trump's campaign on June 20 and is now a paid commentator for CNN, also chided news organizations while further defending his former boss.
"That's the mainstream media trying to attack Donald Trump for something that really isn't there," Lewandowski said. "They put up a new tweet with a circle. The message is the same. ... The message is that Hillary Clinton is corrupt."
