Trump deletes tweet using Star of David after backlash

Donald Trump on Saturday tweeted an image accusing Hillary Clinton of being “corrupt” with a six-pointed star, before deleting it hours later after a loud chorus of backlash.

{mosads}The presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s image showd the words “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!” on a red six-pointed star that many have pointed out resembles the Star of David, a symbol that appears on the Israeli flag and is commonly associated with Judaism.

The star was superimposed over an image of $100 bills and an image of Clinton often used by her campaign that reads “History made.”

Two hours after the initial post, Trump tweeted a different version of the same image, this time with a circle under the words “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!” instead of the star.

Shortly after the second tweet, Trump deleted the original.

Social media users captured a screenshot of the original tweet before it was deleted, and many people shared the two side-by-side:

lol pic.twitter.com/tlAJfsOhef

— andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) July 2, 2016

You KNOW this is coming in 3…2…1… pic.twitter.com/tiRm0CNe6D

— (((Charles Gaba))) (@charles_gaba) July 2, 2016

The original image drew immediate backlash on Twitter. Josh Schwerin, a communications staffer for Clinton’s campaign, asked why a Star of David was used on the image.

Why is there a Star of David? https://t.co/CMidmfHbjg

— Josh Schwerin (@JoshSchwerin) July 2, 2016

Political columnist Ana Marie Cox said the “Symbolism here is pretty… unsubtle.”

Symbolism here is pretty… unsubtle. https://t.co/VRWun8bnmg

— Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) July 2, 2016

Several anti-Trump Republican analysts and staffers have responded to the post, including GOP strategist Patrick Ruffini, who called the tweet “anti-Semitic.” 

Using Star of David symbol with the word “corrupt” –> https://t.co/YWT9vCDQBa

— (((PatrickRuffini))) (@PatrickRuffini) July 2, 2016

19 minutes after Trump’s anti-Semitic dog whistling tweet, and it’s still up. #NewTrump

— (((PatrickRuffini))) (@PatrickRuffini) July 2, 2016

Idiot who panders to bigots tweets antisemitic image suggesting Hillary is bought by Jews (that’s a Star of David). https://t.co/NzLdQF3TOh

— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) July 2, 2016

Putting “corrupt” in the Star of David. Totally not anti-Semitic though. #NeverTrump https://t.co/O9fWXnZ1y9

— Kyle Foley (@KFoleyFL) July 2, 2016

Many journalists have also taken to Twitter to question or criticize Trump’s post.

Cool Star of David bro https://t.co/1ud2ziDNkn

— David A. Graham (@GrahamDavidA) July 2, 2016

Star of David on a bed of dollars FTW! https://t.co/07LN21lR3C

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) July 2, 2016

Why is there a Star of David where it says “most corrupt candidate ever” ??? https://t.co/MsOJ6m1vjR

— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) July 2, 2016

– Updated at 12:10 p.m.