Donald Trump Jr. compares Syrian refugees to Skittles

Trump's oldest son has provoked a furious response on social media with a Twitter post suggesting Syrian refugees should not be accepted into the US.

Donald Trump Jr's tweet has been widely criticised on social media.
TRT World and Agencies

Donald Trump Jr's tweet has been widely criticised on social media.

A recent Twitter post by Donald Trump Jr. comparing Syrian refugees to a bowl of Skittles, some of which could "kill you," has met with outrage on social media.

A spokeswoman for Skittles maker Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co said the company did not feel Trump's analogy was appropriate.

"Skittles are candy. Refugees are people," said spokeswoman Michelle Green, adding that the company would refrain from further comment, "as anything we say could be misinterpreted as marketing."

Donald Trump Jr.'s post was also criticised by the Clinton campaign.

"Thankful my grandfather was allowed into this country and not compared to a poisonous skittle," Josh Schwerin, a national spokesman for Hillary Clinton, posted on Monday.

The hashtag #SkittlesWelcome trended on Twitter in the United States.

Travelling Press Secretary for Clinton, Nick Miller, said the post was "disgusting."

Barack Obama's former speech writer Jon Favreau responded by tweeting the photo of Syrian child Omran Daqneesh which went viral last month:

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Tuesday that US immigration policy needs to be stricter, in the wake of recent attacks in the country suspected to have been carried out by immigrants.

"These attacks were made possible because of our extremely open immigration system, which fails to properly vet and screen the individuals or families coming into our country," he said.

Trump proposed a more stringent screening process and opposes letting Syrian refugees enter the US, while his Democratic rival in the November 8 election, Hillary Clinton, supports accepting some of those fleeing the war-torn country.

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