Trump Says Campaign Shouldn’t Have Taken Down Anti-Semitic ‘Star of David’ Tweet
Presumptive GOP Nominee Also Doubles Down on Praise for Saddam Hussein
Speaking a rally Wednesday night in Ohio, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump said he wishes his social media director hadn’t taken down an anti-semitic meme featuring the “Star of David” that the campaign posted on Twitter last week.Â
On Saturday morning, Trump’s campaign tweeted an image of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton atop a bed of $100 bills, next to the Star of David, with the words, “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!” It was later revealed that the meme had originally been created by neo-Nazi white supremacists. Â
“As the Social Media Director for the campaign, I would never offend anyone and therefore chose to remove the image,” Trump social media director Dan Scavino said later Saturday, adding that the meme had been “lifted from an anti-Hillary Twitter user.”Â
But Trump said Wednesday he wishes Scavino had left the meme up:Â
Full quote of Trump saying “just leave it up” about the Star of David. pic.twitter.com/inMoije1DS
— Alan Rappeport (@arappeport) July 6, 2016
Trumps remarks were part of a rambling, hourlong speech at a rally in Sharonville — outside Cincinnati — where he appeared alongside former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is believed to be on his short list of possible running mates:Â
.@realDonaldTrump on @newtgingrich: “In one form or another, Newt Gingrich is going to be involved w/ our gov’t.” pic.twitter.com/l3TcVScFSG
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 6, 2016
Trump also addressed the Department of Justice’s decision not to file criminal charges following the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s emails: Â
.@realDonaldTrump: “FBI Dir. said @HillaryClinton sent or received more than 100 emails w/ classified information.” pic.twitter.com/lhUVayyodG
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 6, 2016
And he doubled down on a statement from a day before, again praising former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for being “good at killing terrorists.”Â
Donald Trump: “I hate Saddam Hussein, but he was damn good at killing terrorists” https://t.co/6n9ZNy6ylb https://t.co/ihn45VQteJ
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 6, 2016
Trump credit Saddam Hussein with killing terrorists, but Saddam was a state sponsor of terrorism. https://t.co/fCIXqOSnhN #APFactCheck
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) July 6, 2016
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