Vanessa and Donald Trump Jr surrounded by his tweets

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Donald Trump Jr.’s tweets may have prompted divorce

It couldn't have just been two tweets.

 

David Covucci

Tech

Posted on Mar 16, 2018   Updated on May 21, 2021, 9:36 pm CDT

Yesterday, news broke that Vanessa Trump, longtime wife of President Donald Trump‘s son, Donald Trump Jr., filed for divorce.

Page Six, which had the scoop, said that Vanessa Trump had been increasingly disconcerted with her husband’s extremely online behavior.

An issue, two of the sources say, is that Don Jr. “appears to have changed recently, and friends are concerned about him.” Their concerns were increased by Don Jr.’s tweeting, including when he liked a tweet linking antidepressants to mass murder, and another liking a tweet attacking a teen survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

However, one of Trump’s close friends denied the allegation, saying that the president’s son has always been over-the-top on the internet.

“Don has always had a bold and aggressive nature on social, there’s no change to his stance on Twitter. His behavior hasn’t changed, there’s nothing irrational about him, he’s always been bold, will say what he thinks and fight back, that’s his personality on Twitter.”

That’s absolutely true. The eldest Trump son has been a prolific Twitter user since he joined the site and long ago took the mantle as our country’s fire memer-in-chief. While it’s certainly possible that his online behavior strained their relationship, it’s hard to believe two specific tweets pushed Vanessa Trump over the edge, especially when you consider the history of his output on the platform. Here’s a quick recap for some perspective.

Donald Trump Jr.’s controversial Twitter history

In the run-up to the election, Trump Jr. emerged as an online troll who writhed all day in debunked conspiracies, far-right propaganda, and offensive memes. Here are two of countless examples centered on Hillary Clinton and Benghazi. He also used Twitter to circulate a fake WikiLeaks letter implicating Clinton in an effort to bribe pollsters.

Trump Jr. first made national headlines for a tweet last September when he liked Syrian refugees to poisonous Skittles. Not only is it a crude and insensitive way to address poverty-stricken people fleeing a devasting civil war and strife, the photo, as fate would have it, was taken by a refugee.

Trump Jr. openly embraced an image of “The Deplorables” that prominently featured Pepe the Frog, a meme that had become associated with white supremacy and was labeled a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League.

Trump spurred controversy again with candy on Halloween when he used his daughter Chloe’s to a make a misguided metaphor about socialism. Many were also quick to point out the irony that Halloween is a holiday based on going door-to-door to receive free handouts from strangers, and the cruelty of assuming that people who aren’t able to go trick-or-treating are just lazy. 

That’s hardly the only time Trump Jr. used one of his children as a prop. He also used his 2-year-old to illustrate how he thinks people overreact to workplace sexual harassment.

There are countless tweets that would make one question Trump Jr.’s moral character and his fitness as a parent. For example, he casually joked about convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky.

And about “suffering” from marriage:

And about pretending to be gay to commit acts of sexual assault:

His views toward women are just as problematic. He told U.S. representative (and notable Trump critic) Maxine Waters that she looks like a stripper:

In a since-deleted tweet, he also compared attending his wife’s baby shower to being at a strip club.

At Vanessa’s baby shower. Last time I was in a room with so many women there was a disco ball and a main stage if u know what I mean ;)

When it comes to grounds for divorce, it seems like accusing students at a school shooting of being crisis actors is hardly a low point in Trump Jr.’s Twitter timeline.

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*First Published: Mar 16, 2018, 3:03 pm CDT