Donald Trump Jr. faced strong condemnation for a post he shared on Sunday, comparing former first lady Michelle Obama to an ex-NFL player.
Trump Jr. took to his personal Instagram account to share an image of former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Levon Kirkland, which was overlaid with the text, "I found this rare Michelle Obama rookie card." Trump Jr. captioned the post, "Just a little Super Bowl nostalgia. LOL," adding, "Deer [sic] fact checkers I'm told that this is a joke, so please treat it accordingly though personally I am not 100% sure."
Trump Jr.'s post seemed to draw upon a baseless conspiracy theory that Obama is actually a man or transgender woman, with several GOP legislators circulating it across social media in January, according to Newsweek. Many social media users sharply criticized the former president's son for the post, with journalist Aaron Rupar calling out its "insane levels of racist misogyny."
insane levels of racist misogyny on Don Jr’s Instagram page pic.twitter.com/rXOLZURDxZ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 12, 2024
What a pathetic loser Don Jr truly is. Racist and misogynistic beyond belief. I hope he is as miserable as he is racist. https://t.co/j4VxSjEOmI
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) February 12, 2024
yep very on brand https://t.co/I84BFHf3aT
— Ally Sammarco (@Ally_Sammarco) February 12, 2024