Trump deletes anti-Clinton corruption ad with Star of David
Superimposed over piles of cash, presumptive GOP nominee uses Jewish star to attack his Democratic rival, scraps it after backlash
Leveling corruption accusations against rival presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump on Saturday tweeted, then swiftly deleted, an image depicting the Democratic nominee next to a Star of David superimposed over piles of money.
Trump’s image of Clinton surrounded by $100 bills read: “Most corrupt Candidate Ever!” on a six pointed star, a common Jewish and Israeli symbol.
Below the image was a screenshot of a Fox News poll reflecting that 58 percent of American voters considered Clinton to be “corrupt.”
The attack ad drew immediate condemnation from social media users, with some questioning Trump’s motive for using a six pointed star in the campaign ad slamming Clinton.
https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedAndrew/status/749266040396406784
Why is there a Star of David where it says "most corrupt candidate ever" ??? https://t.co/MsOJ6m1vjR
— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) July 2, 2016
Star of David on a bed of dollars FTW! https://t.co/07LN21lR3C
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) July 2, 2016
In just two hours, the tweet was deleted and replaced by a revised version of the image, this time with his accusations of Clinton’s corruption appearing in a circle.
In response, Clinton’s campaign tweeted a link to a webpage listing Trump supporters, charging it read like a “who’s who of extremists.”
The company you keep says a lot about you (maybe no one ever told Donald Trump). https://t.co/PpgSed6aZJ
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 2, 2016
“The company you keep says a lot about you (maybe no one ever told Donald Trump),” Clinton’s tweet said.
Trump has previously come under fire for posting racially charged posts. Earlier this year, Trump retweeted a post by George Lincoln Rockwell, a prominent figure in the neo-Nazi movement in North America.
Much of Trump’s campaign has been marked by a pattern of inflammatory statements; he kicked off his campaign in mid-2015 with a speech in which he branded some Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals.
He also sparked a furious outcry when he called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” as a terror prevention measure later that year.
Trump has also faced a backlash for refusing to directly denounce anti-Semitic supporters, some of whom launched an harassment campaign against Jewish reporters who have written critically of the presidential contender or his wife.
