Trump campaign blames 'young intern' for tweet with apparent Nazi imagery
(Twitter) The deleted tweet.
Real-estate developer Donald Trump's Twitter account deleted a tweet on Tuesday that contained small images that some people identified as World War II-era Waffen-SS soldiers.
On the surface, Trump's tweet was innocent enough. It featured a photo of the Republican presidential candidate embedded in an American flag. Within each of the three visible red stripes were photos of money, the White House, and soldiers.
But former National Security Agency analyst John Schindler repeatedly wrote on Twitter that the men at the bottom of the photo were actually Nazi soldiers.
Business Insider couldn't independently verify his claims, but Schindler presented various pieces of evidence to make his case:
These guys are dressed as late (1944-45) WW2 Waffen-SS infantry. Nothing to debate here. Way to go, Trump! https://t.co/8j5T1pSEjQ
— John Schindler (@20committee) July 14, 2015
See also Waffen-SS tunic with unit cuff title & SS eagle on left arm, as in Trump pic https://t.co/b3pwWmdwHY pic.twitter.com/IdQlwcIebJ
— John Schindler (@20committee) July 14, 2015
Notice the late-war Waffen-SS "dot" camo tunic, with SS eagle on left arm as in the Trump pic https://t.co/b3pwWmdwHY pic.twitter.com/ulScwicbZU
— John Schindler (@20committee) July 14, 2015
Trump's campaign subsequently deleted the tweet and told The Hill that an intern was at fault. Michael Cohen, a Trump spokesman, reportedly pointed to Trump's Tuesday event in Charlottesville, Virginia, and said the real-estate developer was not involved in the creation of the image.
"A young intern created and posted the image and did not see the very faded figures within the flag of the stock photo," Cohen told the paper. "The intern apologized and immediately deleted the tweet."
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