Donald Trump Jr. Posts ‘Deplorables’ Meme With White Supremacist Cartoon Frog
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Ron Kampeas September 13, 2016
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr. posted to Instagram a movie poster parody of himself heroically grouped with others deemed “The Deplorables,” including a cartoon frog that has become a popular symbol for white supremacists.
“Apparently I made the cut as one of ‘the Deplorables,’” Trump Jr. said in the posting Sunday of the image, which featured himself; his father, Republican nominee Donald Trump, and Pepe the Frog grouped together and parodying the poster for the action movie series “The Expendables.”
The deplorables reference was to remarks made last week by the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, dividing Trump’s supporters between “deplorables,” meaning bigots, and hard-working Americans who had difficulties advancing in the economy.
Pepe is a cartoon frog who has been ubiquitous on the internet over the last decade, but who in the last year or so has become popular as the flag-bearer of the alt-right, which advances an insular conservatism favoring white people.
“All kidding aside I am honored to be grouped with the hard working men and women of this great nation that have supported @realdonaldtrump and know that he can fix the mess created by politicians in Washington,” Trump Jr. said.
Also featured in the picture were others close to the Trump campaign, including vice presidential candidate Mike Pence, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Eric Trump, the nominee’s second son.
In the picture, too, are Alex Jones, the radio host and conspiracy theorist, and Milo Yiannopoulos, a writer who has celebrated the rise of the alt-right as it has attached itself to Trump’s candidacy, despite the nominee’s occasional expressions rejecting the movement.
The picture’s provenance is not clear.
Trump Jr. and his father have been criticized during the campaign for adopting themes and associating with individuals known on the alt-right. Last month, Trump Jr. retweeted an attack on Clinton by Kevin MacDonald, a psychologist notorious for his theories of Jewish manipulation and control. The tweet itself was unremarkable and did not refer to Jews.
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