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Donald Trump Jr. just compared Syrian refugees to poisonous Skittles

The meme he used to make his argument has a sordid history.

 

Jessica Machado

Tech

Posted on Sep 20, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 11:33 pm CDT

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. 

A few also note that the image has been associated with other racist memes. 

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. 


When reached for comment, a Skittles spokesperson provided the following statement to reporter Seth Abramovitch: 

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*First Published: Sep 20, 2016, 9:32 am CDT