Mother Jones
On Monday evening, Donald Trump Jr. decided that it would be a good idea to compare Syrian refugees to Skittles.
This image says it all. Let’s end the politically correct agenda that doesn’t put America first. #trump2016 pic.twitter.com/9fHwog7ssN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr)
Reactions to the tweet—including a fair amount of ridicule—were almost immediate. ThinkProgress editor Judd Legum’s tweetstorm captures everything that’s wrong with the analogy:
1. So we’ve done some calculations and we’ve fixed Donald Trump Jr.’s Skittles analogy https://t.co/ZcIgvMvkNX
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
2. Well let me revise that — you can’t fix it because refugees are people, not Skittles https://t.co/ZcIgvMvkNX
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
3. But if you insist on comparing refugees to Skittles, know that America has taken in 784,000 refugees since 9/11 https://t.co/ZcIgvMvkNX
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
4. 784,000 Skittles would not fit into a tiny bowl, they’d fill this entire refrigerator to the brim https://t.co/j5sxC1o5yG pic.twitter.com/ln2TuOTGFZ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
5. In this refrigerator filled with 784,000 Skittles none of them will kill you https://t.co/j5sxC1o5yG pic.twitter.com/ln2TuOTGFZ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
6. No refugee taken in since 9/11 has committed a terrorist attack or killed an American https://t.co/j5sxC1o5yG pic.twitter.com/ln2TuOTGFZ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
7. 5 refugees, 0.0006%, were charged w/terrorism crime. None were planning an attack on US. https://t.co/j5sxC1o5yG pic.twitter.com/ln2TuOTGFZ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
8. Also worth noting that this analogy has roots in anti-semitism and was used against the Jews. https://t.co/j5sxC1o5yG
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
9. In the 1930s, they didn’t have poisonous skittles but they did have poisonous mushrooms https://t.co/j5sxC1o5yG pic.twitter.com/WwJQ9uZdwv
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum)
Here’s the kicker: The Skittles photo that Trump used for his tweet? It was taken by a refugee, and he is not happy about how Trump used it. “This was not done with my permission, I don’t support his politics and I would never take his money to use it,” David Kittos, a UK-based photographer, told the BBC.
And just in case you needed another reminder of what is actually happening in Syria:
Hey @DonaldJTrumpJr, this is one of the millions of children you compared to a poisoned Skittle today: https://t.co/SDSGw0eUIP pic.twitter.com/HuhY9RGvWW
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs)
Original post:
There Is So Much Wrong With Donald Trump Jr.’s Skittles Tweet
