While his father continues to spout off on Twitter about destroying cultural and religious sites in Iran, Donald Trump Jr. decided it’d be a great idea to post photos of himself clutching an assault rifle complete with a symbol of religious holy war with Islam that has been appropriated by white supremacists across the world.
On his Instagram account, Junior posted these two photos:
Be sure and notice the continued childish fascination with Hillary Clinton, who lives rent-free in the head of every Trump family member and Trump acolyte even though she lost the 2016 race and isn’t running in 2020.
But the more troubling symbol on Don Jr’s assault rifle is what’s known as the crusader’s cross, which was explained by Douglas Blackmon, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal:
So on the day @realDonaldTrump is threatening to blow up the Middle East, his son posts pictures of himself with a weapon bearing the “crusaders cross,” symbol of war with Islam in the Middle Ages, and today used by White supremacists? https://t.co/LMAx45vFhp pic.twitter.com/hUyow9fkQ0
— Douglas A. Blackmon (@douglasblackmon) January 6, 2020
Let me just repeat that back: the son of @realDonaldTrump has posted images of himself with a weapon bearing a widely used symbol of white supremacist groups……
2/3— Douglas A. Blackmon (@douglasblackmon) January 6, 2020
….which also happens to have been a major symbol of the medieval crusades/wars between Christian Europe and the Islam world….
While @realDonaldTrump is threatening to bomb civilians in Iran and claiming the right to occupy Iraqi territory.#IsThereNoBottom to this?
3/3— Douglas A. Blackmon (@douglasblackmon) January 6, 2020
Akil N Awan, a co-director of the Conflict, Violence and Terrorism Research Centre at the University of London, confirmed the meaning and use of the crusader’s cross:
Don Jr posted photos of himself brandishing a modified assault rifle with CRUSADER etched on it, lower receiver modelled after a medieval Crusader hemet & mag printed with Hillary’s face.
Crusader imagery on weapons & propaganda has been used by Far-Right terrorists since Breivik pic.twitter.com/hLdgUAL7au— Akil N Awan (@Akil_N_Awan) January 6, 2020
And former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien said she’s still waiting for Republicans to criticize the Instagram post from Don Jr.:
[Absolute silence from GOP leadership, and from business leaders.] https://t.co/1IsJzxkF2p
— Soledad O’Brien (@soledadobrien) January 6, 2020
Here’s an idea: Since Junior is so fond of assault weapons and warfare, why doesn’t he volunteer to join the U.S. military and insist on being deployed to the most dangerous locations in the Middle East? Probably because he’s a coward who gets off on shooting defenseless animals and would likely soil his britches if anyone ever pointed a weapon in his direction. And also, there’s a very real chance he inherited those horrible bone spurs from daddy.
Featured Image Via Instagram