Donald Trump Jr. is facing widespread criticism on social media after making a “joke” about former first lady Michelle Obama.
On Sunday (February 11), Trump. Jr. shared a photo on Instagram of former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Levon Kirkland that was captioned: “Found this rare Michelle Obama rookie card.”
“Just a little Super Bowl nostalgia. LOL,” Trump Jr. wrote alongside the photo.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, journalist Aaron Rupar brought attention to the “insane levels of racist misogyny on Don Jr.’s Instagram page,” per Newsweek.
Other Instagram users commented under Trump Jr.’s post: “So low,” “disgusting mean behavior,” and “racism.”
In the caption of his post, the former president’s son added: “Deer [sic] fact checkers I’m told that this is a joke So please treat it accordingly though I personally am not 100% sure.”
More social media users called out Trump Jr. for referencing a false conspiracy theory that claims the former first lady is actually a man or transgender woman.
Late comedian Joan Rivers previously touted the conspiracy during an interview that circulated online in 2014. When asked if the U.S. would ever have a gay or transgender president, Rivers said: “We already have that with Obama. You know Michelle is a trans.”
“A transgender. We all know,” Rivers said, doubling down on her statement.
C. Riley Snorton, professor of English Language and Literature, Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity at the University of Chicago, told Newsweek that Trump Jr.’s post displayed a “disturbing linking of anti-Black and anti-trans rhetoric.”
“To insinuate that Michelle Obama is a transwoman is another example of how Black people’s genders are scrutinized and policed on anti-trans terms where trans people are rendered as punchlines,” Snorton said.
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