‘Pepe the Frog’ Regarded as White Supremacist Alt-Right Symbol
In response to Hillary Clinton’s assertion that many of his supporters are racist, both Donald Trump’s son and a top supporter have shared a meme containing a white supremacist symbol on social media.Â
The “Deplorables” meme (pictured) features the faces of several Trump supporters photoshopped onto a poster from the 2010 movie “The Expendables.”
However, one of the faces isn’t a real person but “Pepe the Frog” — a symbol of the alt-right that’s associated with white supremacy.Â
“Pepe the Frog is a huge favorite white supremacist meme,” Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center told NBC News. “It’s constantly used in those circles. The white nationalists are gonna love this because they’re gonna feel like ‘yeah we’re in there with Trump, there’s Pepe the Frog.'”
Roger Stone, a top Trump ally, shared the meme on Twitter, while Donald Trump Jr. posted it on Instagram:Â
Despite the meme’s obvious racist overtones, Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told NBC News, “Don Jr., like Mr. Trump, disavows any groups or symbols associated with a message of hate.”