David Duke says symbol in image depicting ‘corrupt’ Democratic nominee over piles of money was clearly Star of David; claims message ‘all true’
White supremacist and former KKK leader David Duke on Tuesday dismissed charges by Donald Trump aides that the six-point star in a tweeted image critical of rival Hillary Clinton was meant to be a Sheriff’s star, arguing that it was a Star of David, as many have suspected.
The image, tweeted by Trump on Saturday — and later deleted — featured the presumptive Democratic nominee’s picture on a background of $100 bills with the six-pointed star reading “most corrupt candidate ever.”
Speaking on a radio show, Duke said: “Let’s go to the tweet. The tweet again shows Clinton, it shows a Star of David. Of course later the campaign made the excuse, ‘well, no, that’s like a sheriff’s badge.’ Well, no way folks. Clinton, money, the most campaign corrupt person,” said Duke.
Earlier in the broadcast, Duke praised Trump for the tweet, saying the message was “all true,” and criticizing “the media.”
“We have situation right now where Trump is being absolutely pummeled for, guess what, posting a tweeting that shows Hillary Clinton with a big — in the midst of thousands of hundred dollar bills — a big Star of David, and the words ‘the most corrupt candidate ever,’” Duke said. “And Trump tweeted this, ‘Hillary Clinton the most corrupt candidate ever.’ Now of course, the media immediately came out and said that this was ‘anti-Semitic.’ But of course, it’s all true. We’re not talking about something that’s not true.”
The image was blasted as anti-Semitic and, as reported by news website Mic, had initially appeared on what it described as “an Internet message board for the alt-right, a digital movement of neo-Nazis, anti-Semites and white supremacists,” several days before Trump tweeted the image from his official account.
Earlier Tuesday, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan offered amuted condemnation of the image, saying: “Anti-Semitic images have no place in the presidential campaign, candidates should know that.”
Also Tuesday, a Jewish employee of Trump’s Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner slammed him for remaining silent on the anti-Semitic imagery in the tweet and for allowing his father-in-law to foster anti-Semitism.
As reported by the Times of Israel