July 21, 2015

Donald Trump Just Accidentally Tweeted a Photo of a Convicted Murderer

Gary M Williams/ZUMA

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Less than a week after tweeting a campaign poster that confused men dressed in Nazi uniforms for American soldiers, Donald Trump is proving once again he is in fact not a “really smart person.”

Last night, the real estate mogul fell for an internet prank by retweeting a photo of Jeffrey MacDonald, the former army doctor who in 1979 was convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two daughters. Trump evidently confused the original tweet for an endorsement amid the backlash sparked by his comments mocking Sen. John McCain’s military record.

Nazi photos aside, this is far from the first time Trump has committed a social media gaffe. Last September, Trump fell for yet another stunt after retweeting a photo with the message, “My parents who passed away always said you were a big inspiration. Can you please RT for their memory?” The resulting retweet posted a photo of two infamous serial killers.

Though his latest remarks appeared to dip his polling numbers, Trump continues to lead polls of the Republican primary.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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