Trump: Charges of anti-Semitism over star tweet are ‘ridiculous’

Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton’s campaign is “ridiculous” to portray an anti-Clinton tweet that appeared to depict the Star of David atop a pile of cash as anti-Semitic. In a statement issued by his Republican presidential campaign Monday evening, Trump suggested Clinton and her allies were using the matter to distract from her own recent campaign troubles. Trump said the tweet portrayed “a basic star, often used by sheriffs who deal with criminals and criminal behaviour”, as part of an effort to convey that “Crooked Hillary is the most corrupt candidate ever.”

As the social media director for the campaign, I would never offend anyone and therefore chose to remove the image.

Dan Scavino

Trump’s account later posted a new version with a circle in place of the six-point star. Addressing the origins of the tweet for the first time, Trump campaign social media director Dan Scavino said in a statement posted on Trump’s Facebook page that he had lifted it from an anti-Clinton Twitter feed and had never intended to offend anyone. “The social media graphic used this weekend was not created by the campaign nor was it sourced from an anti-Semitic site. It was lifted from an anti-Hillary Twitter user where countless images appear,” he wrote. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said Trump’s attempt to dismiss the concerns of people who have taken issue with the post “falls somewhere between absurd and offensive”.

Now, not only won’t he apologize for it, he’s peddling lies and blaming others.

Sarah Bard, director of Jewish outreach for Clinton’s Democratic presidential campaign

Trump star