# Trump's Star of David tweet **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 4, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090 "2016-07-04T19:58:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/161 "2016-07-06T22:27:27Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Yeah, what Elvis said. Still not clear to me, maybe I’m slow. I know that it was intentional. I’ve known that the whole time. What you are saying is that the picture coming from a white supremacist Web site does not prove its anti semitism - only it’s intent to be antisemitic. I do not understand why this is materially important. Maybe you can approach it from a different angle and explain to me, a Jew, the parameters for \*\*proving \*\*that a thing is anti-Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/162 "2016-07-06T22:35:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Still not clear to me, maybe I’m slow. I know that it was intentional. I’ve known that the whole time. What you are saying is that the picture coming from a white supremacist Web site does not prove it’s anti semitism - only it’s intent to be antisemitic. I do not understand why this is materially important. > > Maybe you can approach it from a different angle and explain to me, a Jew, the parameters for \*\*proving \*\*that a thing is anti-Jewish. I think it depends on what you mean. Imagine just that image as tweeted by Trump, but in an alternate world where Trump created the image himself using a stock, six-sided star from MS Word. Now, to answer the question, “Is this anti-Jewish?”, is it important to determine whether Trump made an innocent error or if he intended it as a dog whistle to anti-Semitic groups? If the answer is that it doesn’t matter, then in that sense, I, as a non-Jew, don’t think I have any valuable opinion to offer you as to whether or not you should feel offended and demand an apology. But to me, in the larger context of the election, the questions to me are is the image anti-semitic, what was intended by its creators, what was intended by Trump’s campaign in retweeting it, and has the campaign acted appropriately? And the answers are yes, anti-semitism, I don’t know, and no. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/163 "2016-07-06T22:38:54Z")
I try to avoid the argument, “if the other guy did this, then so-and-so would throw a fit.” But, really, wasn’t Obama browbeaten into repudiating anyone who said anything vaguely controversial within his earshot? “You must reject the ideas of this guy whose book you read as an undergrad!” or whatever. Remember that? Good times. But Trump can take source material from a _fucking white supremacist_, and as long as he deletes it and pretends it didn’t happen, that’s cool? Really? He doesn’t have to even say, “Oh geez, that was a major screw up! Sorry!” Even the hated non-apology (“I apologize if you were offended”) would at least be an acknowledgement that people were offended. But, nope! He just ignores it and moves on to embracing Saddam Hussein and accusing the Attorney General of accepting bribes. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/164 "2016-07-06T22:48:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Still not clear to me, maybe I’m slow. I know that it was intentional. I’ve known that the whole time. What you are saying is that the picture coming from a white supremacist Web site does not prove its anti semitism - only it’s intent to be antisemitic. I do not understand why this is materially important. The person that made the image \*intended \*it to be anti-Jewish. However, the image itself isn’t necessarily so. Trump’s people just searched for anti-Hilary messages. They only saw the anti-Hilary sentiment in the image, and distributed it as such. The intended anti-Jewish message went over their heads. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/165 "2016-07-06T22:52:03Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The person that made the image \*intended \*it to be anti-Jewish. However, the image itself isn’t necessarily so. > > Trump’s people just searched for anti-Hilary messages. They only saw the anti-Hilary sentiment in the image, and distributed it as such. The intended anti-Jewish message went over their heads. The _alphabet_ would go over their heads. Maybe if they looked at the site they were stealing the image from, this sort of thing wouldn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/166 "2016-07-06T22:52:24Z")
> [@](#): > > …Not my problem if you want to let others know how whooshed you can get _When you whoosh upon a star…_ ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/167 "2016-07-06T22:55:15Z")
Small point, maybe lost already. I recall reading that somebody altered the image after the fact to replace the star with a circle. (Just as **GIGO** noted, there has to be enough room inside the image for words.) Who did that, and allegedly why? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/168 "2016-07-06T22:55:23Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Stupid auto correct. That should have said FUN FACT. No one sponsored my post. :smack: Bah, everyone knows the posts on this message board are funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Inanities. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/169 "2016-07-06T22:59:43Z")
Shit, is it Pledge Week again? Already? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/170 "2016-07-06T23:04:45Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The person that made the image \*intended \*it to be anti-Jewish. However, the image itself isn’t necessarily so. > > Trump’s people just searched for anti-Hilary messages. They only saw the anti-Hilary sentiment in the image, and distributed it as such. The intended anti-Jewish message went over their heads. Given that the guy who did it, Trump’s social media director, used to be his golf caddie, I think that it went over his head is a good bet. However the more interesting question is why the guy was surfing racist sites, except maybe to tell them to stop supporting the candidate. (_snicker_) Or maybe the content of the site went over his head also. Just shows what a great job Trump does in finding talent. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/171 "2016-07-06T23:09:30Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Do any of you even know what an actual Star of David looks like? It’s not as if every 6-pointed star qualifies as a SOD. … I have a challenge for the Trump-apologists: Find a political poster/graphic that has these two characteristics: [ol] [li]Like the Trump tweet, it’s an attack ad on an opponent and contains no “vote for me” content (_only_ “my opponent is awful” content, as in the Trump tweet)[/li][li]Like the Trump tweet, it contains a star. It can be six-sided, five-sided, seven-sided; whatever.[/li][/ol] Notice that in our culture, stars are used to connote something positive. “Vote for ME” posters/graphic are quite likely to contain stars; “my opponent is awful” posters/graphics (that contain no additional ‘vote for ME’ content) are highly unlikely to contain stars. I don’t think any Trump apologist will be able to find a verifiable example. Use of a star connotes _approval_. So the argument that the star in the anti-Hillary graphic _could_ have had any number of points–the argument that the six-pointed star has no significance and was chosen randomly–is absurd. You don’t put a random star in your anti-Hillary graphic, because a star connotes something positive and commendable. But you put a star in your anti-Hillary graphic if it’s a type of star that has a meaning OTHER than ‘this is positive and commendable’–if it, let’s say, has a meaning that evokes Jewishness. And, of course, if you want to imply that Hillary is associated in some disreputable way with people you know your audience hates/fears/despises. _There is no way a star would be used in an anti-Hillary graphic unless it had this special meaning._ A random star would imply approval of Hillary. But a six-pointed star is a message to your fellow hatemongers. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/172 "2016-07-06T23:11:11Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Given that the guy who did it, Trump’s social media director, used to be his golf caddie, I think that it went over his head is a good bet. > > However the more interesting question is why the guy was surfing racist sites, except maybe to tell them to stop supporting the candidate. (_snicker_) The campaign’s story is that they got it from a relatively innocuous anti-Hillary source, which in turn presumably got it from an obviously antisemitic source. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/173 "2016-07-06T23:17:07Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > The campaign’s story is that they got it from a relatively innocuous anti-Hillary source, which in turn presumably got it from an obviously antisemitic source. Remember, the campaign first claimed that it was made in-house.Then CNN tracked down it’s origin from 10 days before Trump retweeted it. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/174 "2016-07-06T23:23:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > It boggles my mind how some folks are able to tell Jewish people, “no, you’re wrong, that’s not about Jews at all - that’s not even a star of David!” with a straight face. It’s no different than how some white people will tell black people that a racist image isn’t racist. Or how sexists will always insist that a given sexist example isn’t sexist. It’s always people being too PC, or too sensitive, or looking for trouble. Bigots have have finally grasped that bigotry is wrong, so they twist themselves into knots to find some way to cast doubt on the accusation. And of course, it’s always supposedly the fault of the people who call them on their bigotry, for being reverse racists or man-haters. You see it in this thread, with people going out of their way to give Donald the benefit of the doubt, that maybe he’s not personally an anti-semite, in his heart of hearts - like that excuses his unapologetic dissemination of anti-semitic stuff. It’s sickening. The only thing to do is just keep speaking the truth. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/175 "2016-07-06T23:26:36Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > (posts shortened) > > Do any of you even know what an actual Star of David looks like? It’s not as if every 6-pointed star qualifies as a SOD. Yes. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/176 "2016-07-06T23:30:55Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Good luck getting the Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferers to allow you to correct any errors you may have made. 😃 Is believing that the image in question came from a white supremacist website part of Trump Derangement Sydrome? How about that many more of Trump’s tweets and images have come from white supremacist sources? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/177 "2016-07-06T23:38:14Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I have a challenge for the Trump-apologists: > > Find a political poster/graphic that has these two characteristics: > [ol] > [li]Like the Trump tweet, it’s an attack ad on an opponent and contains no “vote for me” content (_only_ “my opponent is awful” content, as in the Trump tweet)[/li][li]Like the Trump tweet, it contains a star. It can be six-sided, five-sided, seven-sided; whatever.[/li][/ol]. [https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zombietime.com%2Fzomblog%2Fwp-content%2Fimages2009%2Fgeorge-w-bush-wanted-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zombietime.com%2Fzomblog%2F%3Fp%3D621&docid=iWIA-fdNcXEOpM&tbnid=8TQQkd\_ebVtSIM%3A&w=500&h=611&itg=1&bih=508&biw=884&ved=0ahUKEwjuz5bE\_9\_NAhWCfhoKHSlcBT0QMwhHKCIwIg&iact=mrc&uact=8](https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zombietime.com%2Fzomblog%2Fwp-content%2Fimages2009%2Fgeorge-w-bush-wanted-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zombietime.com%2Fzomblog%2F%3Fp%3D621&docid=iWIA-fdNcXEOpM&tbnid=8TQQkd_ebVtSIM%3A&w=500&h=611&itg=1&bih=508&biw=884&ved=0ahUKEwjuz5bE_9_NAhWCfhoKHSlcBT0QMwhHKCIwIg&iact=mrc&uact=8) Not that I’m apologising for him in the first place. Just saying, I find it believable that they failed to notice the anti-Jewish message in the image. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/178 "2016-07-06T23:42:47Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > [https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zombietime.com%2Fzomblog%2Fwp-content%2Fimages2009%2Fgeorge-w-bush-wanted-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zombietime.com%2Fzomblog%2F%3Fp%3D621&docid=iWIA-fdNcXEOpM&tbnid=8TQQkd\_ebVtSIM%3A&w=500&h=611&itg=1&bih=508&biw=884&ved=0ahUKEwjuz5bE\_9\_NAhWCfhoKHSlcBT0QMwhHKCIwIg&iact=mrc&uact=8](https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zombietime.com%2Fzomblog%2Fwp-content%2Fimages2009%2Fgeorge-w-bush-wanted-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zombietime.com%2Fzomblog%2F%3Fp%3D621&docid=iWIA-fdNcXEOpM&tbnid=8TQQkd_ebVtSIM%3A&w=500&h=611&itg=1&bih=508&biw=884&ved=0ahUKEwjuz5bE_9_NAhWCfhoKHSlcBT0QMwhHKCIwIg&iact=mrc&uact=8) > Not that I’m apologising for him in the first place. Just saying, I find it believable that they failed to notice the anti-Jewish message in the image. The star is clearly a photo of a Texas Ranger’s badge. It’s not a clip art Star of David. it can’t possibly be mistaken for anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/179 "2016-07-06T23:44:31Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > Do any of you even know what an actual Star of David looks like? It’s not as if every 6-pointed star qualifies as a SOD. Certainly they don’t. A sheriff’s badge, for instance, is not a Star of David. Its six points come directly from the center. Rather than, as I am sure you know, having a straight line along the top of the two points below the top point, and a straight line along the bottom of the two points above the bottom point. Which is a Star of David. Are you high? Or on drugs? Or what? What the fuck is wrong with you? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090/180 "2016-07-06T23:51:43Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The star is clearly a photo of a Texas Ranger’s badge. It’s not a clip art Star of David. > it can’t possibly be mistaken for anything else. _“it contains a star. It can be six-sided, five-sided, seven-sided; whatever.”_ [Also, this:](it contains a star. It can be six-sided, five-sided, seven-sided; whatever.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-star-of-david-tweet/759090.md?page=10)