A Reddit internet forum user who claims to be behind a controversial meme that President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday has a long history of racist and anti-Semitic speech online.
The animated GIF Trump tweeted early in the day shows him pummeling WWE founder Vince McMahon with a CNN logo superimposed over his face. The altered video clip is taken from Trump's appearance at the WrestleMania 23 wrestling event in 2007.
"I wake up and have my morning coffee and who retweets my sh**post but the MAGA EMPORER [sic] himself!!! I am honored!!," Reddit user HanA**holeSolo wrote on the popular internet forum Sunday.
MAGA is an abbreviation of Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again," and the post appeared in the /r/The_Donald section of the site where a hard-core band of Trump supporters gather.
Trump's tweet has received significant criticism, with many arguing that it promotes violence against journalists.
It is not clear where Trump found the clip, but the user who claims to have originally created it has a long history of racist and violent anti-Semitic rhetoric. Another of the user's creations nearly a month ago shows the photographs of more than 100 CNN staff and contributors who are Jewish with a Star of David next to their head shots.
Read more: Trump pummels CNN in Twitter wrestling video posted by the president
The post is titled: "Something strange about CNN...can't quite put my finger on it…"
The image features a head shot of celebrity chef and food show host Anthony Bourdain, Pulitzer-prize winning Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold, and the editor of The Weekly Standard, Bill Kristol.
The Reddit user has not only written anti-Semitic posts but also dozens of Islamophobic ones as well. In one post the user describes a desire to stab Muslims in the neck. Other expletive laden posts express fears of black people, calling African Americans the N-word.
In one post made nearly a month ago the user states "precautions are needed when entering areas populated by black people" and advocates carrying a gun.
Trump's publishing of messages advocating violence against journalists and content that originated from avowed racists has only intensified the debate about what is appropriate presidential behaviour that has raged since his election last year.
Trump made public statements last Thursday that the co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe program, Mina Brzezinski, was bleeding from a face lift last winter at a New Year's Eve party held at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The president also called her co-host Joe Scarborough a "psycho."
The tweets received wide condemnation from all quarters, including Republicans. During a press conference, GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan said the president's comments were not "appropriate" and "what we're trying to do around here is improve the tone, the civility of the debate. And this obviously doesn't help do that."
After Republican whip and Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise was shot by a gunman during a charity baseball game practice last month, Trump called for a return to civility amid the political rhetoric coming out Washington.
"Our children deserve to grow up in a nation of safety and peace," the president said, adding "we are strongest when we are unified and when we work together for the common good."
Over the weekend Trump defended his use of social media, language and attacks that many within his own party say are beneath the status of his office. "My use of social media is not Presidential - it's MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL," he wrote on Twitter Saturday.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Graham Lanktree covers U.S. politics for Newsweek. He is based in London and frequently appears as a contributor on BBC ... Read more
