Donald Trump Jr. got a brutal reminder about his past after he launched another attack against "RINOS," or Republicans In Name Only, a pejorative applied to officials elected as members of the Republican Party whose positions don't align with everything GOP leadership does.
Trump Jr. took to Twitter to declare that RINOS "are on the endangered species list" after Republicans he and his father, former President Donald Trump, endorsed saw success in Republican primaries around the country.
RINOs are on the endangered species list.— Donald Trump Jr. (@Donald Trump Jr.) 1651631464
But Trump Jr.'s mention of "endangered species" prompted his critics to remind him that they had not forgotten about the controversy he courted after his big-game hunting expeditions went public.
In 2016, during their father's presidential campaign, Trump Jr. and his brother, Eric Trump, were heavily criticized after pictures emerged of the animals they’d killed on safari.
The two men posed for photos with a slain civet as well as an elephant and a leopard that they had killed.
In 2019, Trump Jr. made headlines again, this time for traveling to Western Mongolia and shooting and killing an argali, an animal that has the distinction of being the largest sheep in the world while also holding a place on the endangered species list.
Trump Jr.'s trip to Mongolia racked up $76,859.36 in Secret Service fees, which is $60,000 more than the Trump administration had previously disclosed.
Many of Trump Jr.'s critics have since taken him to task for his remarks.
When has anything on an endangered species list meant anything to you?\n\nOh dear.\n\nSilly boy, you just set yourself up Junior. \n\n#Drumpfshttps://twitter.com/donaldjtrumpjr/status/1521678768921849858\u00a0\u2026— E (@E) 1651714886
WOW jr, aren't endangered species what you like to hunt?https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1521678768921849858\u00a0\u2026— Alfie52 (@Alfie52) 1651693513
Did you know Donnie hunts endangered species, including elephants and rhinos?https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1521678768921849858\u00a0\u2026— \ud835\udd4b\ud835\udd60\ud835\udd5e \u211d\ud835\udd56\ud835\udd64\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd64\ud835\udd65\ud835\udd64 \ud835\udd3d\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd64\ud835\udd54\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd64\ud835\udd5e! \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a (@\ud835\udd4b\ud835\udd60\ud835\udd5e \u211d\ud835\udd56\ud835\udd64\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd64\ud835\udd65\ud835\udd64 \ud835\udd3d\ud835\udd52\ud835\udd64\ud835\udd54\ud835\udd5a\ud835\udd64\ud835\udd5e! \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a) 1651673099
If RINOs are an endangered species, that means Junior will be breaking out his hunting rifle.https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1521678768921849858\u00a0\u2026— Blue Shirt Project (@Blue Shirt Project) 1651683400
So you know the trump boys are hunting them.https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1521678768921849858\u00a0\u2026— Dr. Catfish Charlie MD\u2122\ufe0f (@Dr. Catfish Charlie MD\u2122\ufe0f) 1651684805
You're shooting them too?https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1521678768921849858\u00a0\u2026— Richard Schwarz (@Richard Schwarz) 1651746589
Elephants are on the endangered species list, murderer. https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1521678768921849858\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/d609yxHIKU— KamalaHarris47 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@KamalaHarris47 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1651651901
Ah, endangered species--a subject your hunting photos illustrate that you know a lot about. But seriously, Junior, it's refreshing that you admit the old Republican party is dying. So what's your daddy going to name his party?https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1521678768921849858\u00a0\u2026— Elaine McCullough (@Elaine McCullough) 1651636785
Going on another safari Junior?https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1521678768921849858\u00a0\u2026— Diana Says! (@Diana Says!) 1651678045
Trump Jr. later described the Republican Party as the "MAGA Party," a comment that indicates the effects Trumpism has had on the GOP at large.
Earlier this week for instance, J.D. Vance, the author of the bestselling Hillbilly Elegy, won the Republican primary for a Senate seat in Ohio even as he continued to espouse conspiracy theories, such as when he asserted that Democratic President Joe Biden is trying to "kill a bunch of MAGA voters" with fentanyl to "punish" them.
Similarly, J.R. Majewski, a QAnon adherent and part-time MAGA rapper who gained notoriety by painting a 19,000 square-foot Trump campaign sign on his lawn, won the Republican primary for Ohio’s 9th District in a bid to unseat Democratic Representative Marcy Kaptur.
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The Washington Post