Trump Jr.'s Refugee Tweet Doesn't Fly With Skittles Maker

'Skittles are candy. Refugees are people'
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 20, 2016 2:11 AM CDT
Trump Jr.'s Refugee Tweet Doesn't Fly With Skittles Maker
Donald Trump Jr. speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

One of the most controversial moments from the campaign trail on Monday came not from either of the major candidates but from Donald Trump Jr. As CNN reports, he shared a tweet that compared the Syrian refugee problem—and the notion that terrorists might be hiding among them—to Skittles. "If I had a bowl of Skittles and I told you just three would kill you, would you take a handful?" it asks. Trump Jr. himself then wrote, "This image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first."

Trump immediately began taking flak from critics saying he was insensitive to the refugees' plight, including this tweet from Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for President Obama. "This is one of the millions of children you compared to a poisoned Skittle today," it reads, with a link to a now-famous photo of a stunned and injured Syrian boy in an ambulance. Also not a fan? Skittles-maker Mars candy. "Skittles are candy. Refugees are people," a spokesperson tells Mashable. (More Donald Trump Jr. stories.)

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