Donald Trump’s campaign released a statement Tuesday afternoon defending his son Donald Trump Jr. as “a tremendous asset” amid backlash to him posting a tweet comparing Syrian refugees to poisoned candy.
“Don Jr. has been a tremendous asset to the campaign,” Trump spokesman Jason Miller said in the statement obtained by NBC News. “Speaking the truth might upset those who would rather be politically correct than safe, but the American people want a change.”
In the statement, Miller also criticizes President Barack Obama’s plan to increase the number of refugees to be admitted into the United States in 2017, calling it “a dangerous proposal that will put American lives at risk.”
Trump Jr.’s anti-refugee tweet borrowed an analogy popular among white nationalists, with roots in Nazi propaganda. Ironically, the image in the original post was taken by a photographer who says that he was a refugee himself and would never have granted Trump Jr. permission to use his work.
Read the full Trump campaign statement below:
JUST IN: Trump campaign officially responds to @DonaldJTrumpJr‘s controversial @Skittles tweet. pic.twitter.com/WqvEJAfA8u
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) September 20, 2016
