Trump Jr. defends refugee Skittles comment

Donald Trump Jr. on Thursday defended his controversial comparison of Syrian refugees to Skittles candies, saying the metaphor was meant to demonstrate “risk and probability.”

Only days after getting himself into hot water over a Holocaust reference, the son of US presidential hopeful Donald Trump sparked outrage with his remarks.

“If a metaphor offends someone, I can understand that and maybe that’s the world we live in today, but I’m not comparing someone to candy,” he said in a video. “I’m using it as a – it’s a statistical thing. We have to be careful who let into this country. You’ve seen what’s going on in Europe – and this is not just about terrorists, it’s about the rape statistics that have gone on there.”

On Monday, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a campaign promotion for his father showing a bowl of the candies under the text: “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That’s our Syrian refugee problem.”

Above, he wrote: “This image says it all. Let’s end the politically correct agenda that doesn’t put America first.”

He posted the same image on his Facebook page with the message: “This image says it all. Hillary Clinton is asking us to take chances with American lives because of a politically motivated agenda that doesn’t put America first. Hillary Clinton wants a 550% INCREASE in refugees from countries where ISIS currently occupies. What if just one is a terrorist? What if two are? Three? Hillary will increase the risk of more terrorism happening in this country. That is risk we simply cannot afford!!”

The post was shared by 2,902 Facebook users.

In a statement, the Wrigley company, which produces Skittles, said tersely: “Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don’t feel it’s an appropriate analogy. We will respectfully refrain from further commentary as anything we say could be misinterpreted as marketing.”

Some Twitter users took issue with Trump’s taste and punctuation, and even faulted him for being unoriginal. Those lining up to condemn the tweet included US President Barack Obama’s former speechwriter Jon Favreau.

https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/778036417167368192

One user suggested that Wrigleys donate $1 to support refugees for every pack of Skittles sold until the November 8 presidential election.

https://twitter.com/heydudekyle/status/778057211880669184

Another noted a striking resemblance between Trump’s tweet and another — tweeted by what were described as white supremacist supporters of the GOP candidate — in which Muslims were compared to poisonous M&Ms.

https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/778029065718685696

A week ago, the younger Trump drew criticism for the way in which he said the media gave preferential treatment to his father’s opponent, Hillary Clinton. He said that the media would “warm up the gas chambers” for his father if he acted like the Democratic candidate.