Turning Point USA looking into how altered presidential seal appeared during Trump introduction

A spokesperson for the young conservative group Turning Point USA says they are still unsure how what appeared to be an altered presidential seal turned up behind President Trump on Tuesday during his appearance at an event hosted by the organization. 

A spokesman for the group told The Washington Post Wednesday night he was still looking into who was responsible for the seal, which appeared to feature an image of a two-headed eagle — an image similar to that on Russia’s coat of arms — holding a bunch of golf clubs. The image has been interpreted as a jab at the president, who has been accused of having ties to Moscow, and who loves to golf.

According to the Post, the seal also featured a banner reading “45 es un titere,” Spanish for “45 is a puppet,” and can be seen in images and video from the event. 

{mosads}The spokesman told the newspaper the incident was a “last-minute A/V mistake.”

“I can’t figure out where the breakdown was — but it was a last minute throw-up, and that’s all it was,” he said. “I can’t figure out who did it yet.”

“I don’t know where they got the image from,” he added.

He said the team included both Turning Point USA and hotel staff. 

“Somewhere there was a breakdown. I think it was as simple as a rushed move throwing up an image, and it was the wrong one,” the spokesman told the Post. “It was an A/V mistake … it certainly wasn’t our intention.”

A White House spokesman told The Hill in a statement Thursday that they did not see the seal before it appeared, but referred further questions to Turning Point USA. 

The Hill has reached out to Turning Point USA for comment.