Donald Trump Jr. tweets a picture of Skittles in attempt to describe the threat of Syrian refugees
Donald Trump Jr. posted a meme of poisoned Skittles on Monday evening in an attempt to make a point about the danger of Syrian refugees.
In a tweet, the son of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump railed against supposed political correctness in the US immigration process, comparing supposed terrorists hidden among Syrian refugees to poisoned skittles in a bowl.
The comment quickly garnered criticism online from Clinton campaign officials and some observers who noted the ironies and misconceptions in Trump's meme.
Pro-immigration activists argue that the refugee acceptance program is one of the most difficult ways for a terrorist to enter the US, since it requires a years-long vetting process, including a background check and interviews.
"It is extremely unlikely that someone who is a terrorist will be sent through the refugee resettlement program," Greg Chen, director of advocacy at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told Business Insider last year.
"It takes a great deal of time, and it wouldn't make sense for someone who is a terrorist for someone to go through that process. There are going to be easier ways for a terrorist to try to infiltrate, rather than going through the refugee resettlement program."
Wrigley Americas, the parent company of Skittles, distanced itself from the tweet in a short statement provided to NBC News.
"Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don't feel it's an appropriate analogy," said Denise Young, Vice President of Corporate Affairs. "We will respectfully refrain from further commentary as anything we say could be misinterpreted as marketing."
This is the second time in recent days that Trump has raised eyebrows with his perspective on issues in the 2016 election.
Last week, Trump argued that some media outlets purposefully ignored Clinton's controversies, asserting that the same media outlets would be "warming up the gas chamber right now" if the Republican presidential nominee acted like Clinton.
Trump's Twitter account has become a subject of some online fixation, particularly after sites like BuzzFeed rediscovered Trump's candid and controversial older tweets.