The maker of Skittles sweets on Tuesday objected to a social media post by Donald Trump Jr.in which the Republican presidential hopeful’s son compared admitting Syrian refugees to the United States to eating poisoned pieces of the brightly colored, fruit-flavored treats.
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The message echoes the elder Trump’s comments about curbing immigration to the United States, including tactics such as immigration bans from “compromised” nations.
And the other day, Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., said something about his father’s immigration platform that gave all of us some serious pause…and it involved Skittles?
Wrigley, the parent company to Skittles, is taking a stand against Donald Trump Jr.’s racist use of the candy brand!
The candidate has repeatedly warned of the risks posed by Syrian refugees, citing the arrival in Europe of Islamic State operatives disguised as simple refugees, and says U.S. immigration officials are not properly screening new arrivals.
The younger Trump’s tweet drew return fire from the Clinton campaign and many Twitter users. Would you take a handful?” the graphic read, while Trump Jr. commented, “This image says it all. But I guess that doesn’t count.
– Marcus Gilmer (@marcusgilmer) September 20, 2016.@Skittles, FYI, this is a big deal to me, as someone who loves to buy your candy. Not only is the parallel dehumanizing, there is no evidence to support that three Syrian refugees out of every “bowl” of Syrian refugees “would kill” people. “For every pack of Skittles you buy between now and November 8, we’ll donate $1 to support refugees”. The sugary empire released a statement claiming, “refugees are people” and is urging Jr.to stop making such ludicrous comparisons.
“We will respectfully refrain from further commentary as anything we say could be misinterpreted as marketing”, said Vice President of Corporate Affairs Denise Young.
“Thankful my grandfather was allowed into this country and not compared to a poisonous skittle”, Josh Schwerin, a national spokesman for Clinton, posted on Monday. After Zimmerman shot and killed Martin during a scuffle, those calling for the volunteer’s prosecution and conviction often described Martin as an innocent black boy armed with nothing but a hooded sweatshirt and a bag of Skittles.
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That skittles analogy has been going around in Europe for years.
