Usually when you hear about a Trump in trouble, it’s Donald Sr. He does tend to open his mouth sometimes when he shouldn’t. But this week, it is Donald’s sons that have people talking and not in a good way.
Two junior Trumps, Donald Jr. and Eric, went hunting on an African safari in Zimbabwe last year and just this past week, pictures of the safari showed up online on YouTube. The one photo I found most gruesome was Donald Jr. hold a severed elephant tail in one hand and a knife in the other. Other trophy photos, originally posted on the Hunting Legends website, include both brothers standing by a dead crocodile hanging from a tree and one of Donald Jr. in front of a dead water buffalo.
As you might imagine, animal rights organizations didn’t take this well. A spokeswoman for PETA told Daily News “If the young Trumps are looking for a thrill, perhaps they should consider skydiving, bungee jumping, or even following in their anti-hunting father’s footsteps and taking down competing businesses—not wild animals.” She went on to say “Like all animals, elephants, buffalo, and crocodiles deserve better than to be killed and hacked apart for two young millionaires’ grisly photo opportunity. If the Trumps want to help villagers, they have plenty of resources at their disposal.”
Still, the Trumps stand by their safari kills.
Despite the backlash, however, the Trumps are standing their ground. In a joint statement, they told E! News “We are both avid outdoorsmen and were brought up hunting and fishing with our Grandfather who taught us that nothing should ever be taken for granted or wasted.” The meat from the kills was donated to local villagers. The Trumps went on to say in the statement that they have the “utmost respect for nature” and their hunting was in complete accordance with the laws and regulations.
Donald Jr. took it a bit further in saying he made no apologies for being a hunter. Of the elephant he killed, he tweeted “In some parts its over populated” referring to elephants in Africa. He also tweeted “Bottom line with out hunters $ there wouldn’t be much left of Africa. Eco is nice but no $.”
What did Donald Sr. have to say about all this? He said his sons love hunting, but he’s surprised they like it because he is not a believer in it.