On Tuesday, an American dentist admitted to paying $50,000 to hunt and kill Cecil the lion, a beloved animal and popular tourist attraction in Zimbabwe. News of the killing sparked swift condemnation on social media, with many calling for Walter Palmer to be extradited to Zimbabwe to stand trial.
Amid the outrage, photos quickly resurfaced of Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, posing with the dead bodies of several exotic animals, including an African elephant and leopard, they had previously hunted for sport.
#Donaldtrump son kills African elephant,cuts off tail to show off http://t.co/74l9YouWv3 #WalterPalmer #CecilTheLion pic.twitter.com/P7ppYkm5Va
— Zimbabwe Today (@ZimToday) July 28, 2015
When the photos initially emerged online back in 2012, the Trump brothers staunchly defended themselves, taking to Twitter to “make no apologies.”
“In some parts its over populated. Bottom line with out hunters $ there wouldn’t be much left of africa. Eco is nice but no $,” one tweet from Trump Jr. read.
The public reminder is just the latest relic in Trump’s past to stir controversy. This week alone, the New York Times dug up a series of depositions in which the GOP frontrunner for president once told a female lawyer she was “disgusting” for pumping milk for her then three-month-old daughter. The day prior, the Daily Beast published a story resurfacing an old assertion from his former wife claiming he had once raped her.
Update, August 2, 2015: Donald Trump defended his sons with the following statement: “My sons love to hunt. They are members of the NRA, very proudly. I am a big believer in the second amendment. My sons are hunters. Eric is a hunter. He puts it on a par with golf – ahead of golf. And my other son is a hunter. They are great marksmen, great shots. I like to play golf.”
