Trump campaign aide says he 'lifted' controversial image from 'anti-Hillary' Twitter user

(Image credit: Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 5 July 2016

Donald Trump's social media director on Monday defended Trump's tweeting of an image viewed by many as anti-Semitic, saying it was "lifted from an anti-Hillary" Clinton Twitter user and "not created by the campaign."

Trump tweeted an image over the weekend of Clinton, $100 bills, and a six-pointed star that appeared to be a Star of David. After Twitter users accused Trump of playing on anti-Semitic stereotypes, the tweet disappeared; Trump ended up posting the image again, this time with the star replaced by a circle. Mic.com reported that the image was first posted on a forum for right-wing white supremacists, and while Trump supporters like ex-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski defended him, calling the outrage "political correctness run amok," Trump himself was strangely silent until Monday morning.

On Twitter, Trump said the shape was "a Sheriff's Star or plain star," and by the end of the day, the campaign seemed to have settled on the story being that it was a badge. "The social media graphic used this weekend was not created by the campaign nor was it sourced from an anti-Semitic site," social media director Dan Scavino said in a statement. "It was lifted from an anti-Hillary Twitter user where countless images appear. The sheriff's badge — which is available under Microsoft's 'shapes' — fit with the theme of corrupt Hillary and that is why I selected it. As the Social Media Director for the campaign, I would never offend anyone and therefore chose to remove the image." No one from the Trump campaign has apologized for the image being tweeted, or elaborated on how the shape being available in Microsoft Word makes this whole thing any better.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.