Mark Hamill has criticised a “Build the Wall” display at a White House Halloween party, saying it is “frightening beyond words” and accusing it of teaching children “racism and hatred”.
Children were encouraged to help create a wall mural out of bricks at an event for executive branch staff and their families.
The design, which was plastered on a wall of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building just across from the West Wing, bore large black letters reading “Build the Wall” and each “brick” was a piece of red paper with the names of children who were invited to the party on 25 October.
Star Wars actor Hamill took to Twitter to denounce the game. “Children are born innocent,” he wrote. “They can only be taught racism & hatred.
“What they learned at this #WH event is frightening beyond words. Remember when a #POTUS was a role-model for kids? We’re better than this. #HalloweenHorrorStory.”
The wall also had an “America First” sign. The slogan, which is often employed by Donald Trump, has drawn criticism as it was previously used by the Ku Klux Klan.
Trump promised to build a “big, beautiful wall” across the US-Mexico border during his 2016 presidential campaign. Work began on some segments of it last year, however it was recently reported that smugglers have been cutting holes in it using power tools.
