Taking a cue from his father, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a head-scratching, racism-fueled mangled metaphor last night, in which he equated a handful of Syrian refugees to poisonous Skittles.
Screengrab via Donald Trump Jr./Twitter
Above the image of the Skittles—of which “three could kill you,” much like “our Syrian refugee problem”—the son of the Republican presidential nominee wrote, “Let’s end the politically correct agenda that doesn’t put America first.”
Some on Twitter point out that the Skittles reference can be linked back to Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old who was shot by George Zimmerman while carrying the candy.
Donald Trump Jr. makes a reprehensible analogy of Skittles & Brian Williams has no clue it’s a racist reference to Trayvon Martin. @11thHour
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) September 20, 2016
A few also note that the image has been associated with other racist memes.
Fact 1: Someone used skittles in a terror analogy. Fact 2: It was one of Donald Trump’s Children. Result: Democrats lost their minds. -VJ pic.twitter.com/SoMR37yCwy
— RealVinnieJames (@RealVinnieJames) September 20, 2016
But the meme may have gained the most popularity when it was used as a feminist argument a few years ago that men can’t be trusted—which is ironic to say the least.
Screengrab via Imgur
https://twitter.com/itsa_talia/status/778031857078243328
Two years ago, the feminist image was posted on Reddit, with many men decrying it as garbage. Which isn’t much different from what people are saying today about Trump Jr.’s post today.
That little boy, covered in dust & blood, in shock, alone in the back of an ambulance. Trump Jr wants us to fear that little boy. #Skittles
— Aღanda (@GrnEyedMandy) September 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/saladinahmed/status/778037218954870784
That Trump meme is ridiculous. Skittles only get you killed when combined with Arizona tea and George Zimmerman.
— Alan (@idontwan2know) September 20, 2016
When reached for comment, a Skittles spokesperson provided the following statement to reporter Seth Abramovitch:
A rep for @Skittles gives me their response to @DonaldJTrumpJr pic.twitter.com/OmkJQkIqug
— Seth Abramovitch (@SethAbramovitch) September 20, 2016
