The Donald Trump campaign for president has run into some more controversy. An image tweeted from the campaign apparently contains pictures of Nazi soldiers marching in the background. The campaign has blamed an intern for the imagery.
The campaign of the Republican presidential candidate released a tweet that showed Trump faded into the background of an American flag alongside $100 bills and marching soldiers. The tweet included the hashtag #MakeAmericaGreatAgain, Trump’s campaign slogan. However, the campaign seemed to be unaware that the soldiers pictured were Nazi re-enactors, not American servicemen.
The Nazi imagery was pointed out on Twitter by a sharp-eyed John Schindler, a former professor at the Naval War College and retired intelligence official. Schindler tweeter that he was “100% certain [of the] Waffen-SS ID on the Trump pic.” Shortly after, other historians confirmed Schindler’s suspicion, according to a report in The Hill. Specific symbols worn only by Waffen SS-Soldiers, including the eagle insignia worn on the left arm, are clearly seen in the picture.
The Trump campaign quickly deleted the post and went into damage control mode. The campaign blamed the silhouetted Nazi Waffen SS-soldiers on an intern tasked with creating the tweet for the campaign. A spokesperson for the campaign said, “A young intern created and posted the image and did not see the very faded figures within the flag of the stock photo. The intern apologized and immediately deleted the tweet.”
Criticism of the presidential hopeful quickly appeared on the candidate’s official twitter page, lambasting Trump for his inability to distinguish between American and Nazi soldiers. This latest issue comes on the heels of recent controversial remarks made by the candidate in reference to Mexican immigrants. In his presidential campaign announcement, Trump referred to immigrants from Mexico as criminals and rapists and accused Mexico of sending their problems across the border.
The polling for the Trump campaign has been both positive and negative so far. One poll found that nearly 75 percent of polled voters did not consider Trump a serious candidate for the presidency. Another poll found that among likely Republican voters, Trump and Jeb Bush were nearly neck and neck in the race.
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