I don't really understand what Scavino means by "that was why I selected it." Does he means "that was why I selected the six-pointed star shape"? But he didn't select the star -- it was the original graphic from Twitter user FishBoneHead1. Is he saying that he was not sure whether the graphic was worthy of Trump's Twitter feed, but then he noticed that the star was, as he alleges, the same shape as a sheriff's badge, and so he said to himself, "That makes it truly worthy of Mr. Donald J. Trump"? Um, that's ... implausible.
Above: Trump tweet. Below: FishBoneHead1 tweet.
Scavino has demonstrated in the past that he could stand to learn a few things about Judaism. Let's go back to December 2015, just after the San Bernardino massacre:
A senior campaign adviser to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested that President Barack Obama‘s Sunday night address was “disrespectful” to American Jews since it interrupted the first night of Hanukkah. Instead, he suggested Obama’s address should have occurred on Friday or Saturday -- smack-dab in the middle of Shabbat.So what's the problem? BuzzFeed's Adam Serwer explains:
Daniel Scavino, Jr., ... tweeted his comments the hour before the White House’s rare live address from the Oval Office. Per his logic, Scavino thought the broadcast’s timing was “disrespectful” because it fell on “the first night of Hanukkah.” Instead, he thought the address should have occurred “on Friday or Saturday evening.”
Disrespectful. Should have addressed the nation on Friday or Saturday evening. Not the first night of #Hanukkah. https://t.co/bxIlPLzgIe
— Daniel Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) December 7, 2015
Hanukkah is a holiday of minimal religious significance to Jews -- its cultural importance in the United States is largely due to its proximity to Christmas. (It helps Jewish kids not feel left out when their Christian friends are getting a whole bunch of presents.)He was informed of this on Twitter:
On the other hand, Shabbat, which begins on Friday night and ends on Saturday night, is very important to Jews.
Keeping the Sabbath holy is one of the Ten Commandments, and many Jews refrain from using technology during Shabbat.
So…they wouldn’t be able to watch the speech.
On Shabbat, when observant Jews wouldn't watch TV/listen to radio? Versus on a night when they can? https://t.co/jzFUauylbv
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) December 7, 2015
Trump adviser thinks it would be more respectful to Jews to schedule a speech on Shabbat pic.twitter.com/AR19emUlZ8
— John Tabin (@johntabin) December 7, 2015
Perfect. Thx to @thehotchkid, cc @DanScavino. pic.twitter.com/uIfSU3poey
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) December 7, 2015
Scavino eventually deleted that tweet, though his embarrassed walkback is still up:
Yes. Wife/in-laws are Jewish, I am not. Right, definitely not Friday -- however last night would have been more appropriate. #Opinion
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) December 7, 2015
I suppose some of you will argue that this was a dog whistle to anti-Semites, too, but it's hard to see why anti-Semite would appreciate an attempt to be culturally sensitive to Jewish concerns, even if it was extremely inept attempt.
I think the Trump campaigns's ongoing flirtation with white supremacists has happened because Team Trump thinks steering clear of flagrant bigots is a thing other campaigns do as a sop to "political correctness" -- which in Trump World is regarded as the worst thing in the world. Beyond that, I think Trump's aides are just plain ignorant. Even a guy whose wife is Jewish hasn't bothered to learn basic facts about Judaism, not even when his job requires him to do outreach to Jewish voters, because, hey, who cares what people who aren't like us think?
