Donald Trump Jr has used a Twitter post to liken Syrian refugees to poisoned Skittles and suggest that America should not accept any.

This image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first. #trump2016 pic.twitter.com/9fHwog7ssN — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 19, 2016

The tweet sparked outrage on social media, with some users posting harrowing images of Syrians caught up in the civil war juxtaposed with the word Skittles.

Jon Favreau, Barack Obama’s former speechwriter, was scathing.

Hey @DonaldJTrumpJr, this is one of the millions of children you compared to a poisoned Skittle today: https://t.co/SDSGw0eUIP pic.twitter.com/HuhY9RGvWW — Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 20, 2016

Reza Aslan, the religious scholar and author, did not mince his words.

Like piece of shit father, like piece of shit son. https://t.co/KHZRCANKa4 — Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) September 20, 2016

The singer John Legend was similarly unimpressed.

By that logic, you would take everyone's guns away. Because someone is gonna kill somebody at some point. But I guess that doesn't count. https://t.co/3BraX0Ew19 — John Legend (@johnlegend) September 20, 2016

In a series of tweets, Clara Jeffery, the editor-in-chief of the website Mother Jones, lambasted Trump Jr and contrasted his comments with her mother’s efforts to help refugees from the Cambodian genocide:

1/ Re Skittles, a personal tale. After the Cambodian genocide began. My mom started taping pictures and headlines to our dining room wall. — Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) September 20, 2016

3/ I was ~9. She started sponsoring refugees. We were clueless white people. There was no real preexisting Cambodian community in DCmetro. — Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) September 20, 2016

5/ Many followed. Horrible stories. One toddler had a crease across his nose from a bullet. Mass graves. Rapes. — Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) September 20, 2016

7/ That trauma took its toll on all of them, some in more obvious ways. And it took its toll on my family too. — Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) September 20, 2016

9/ Donald Trump Jr, never has known hardship. Nor charity. There’s utterly no evidence his family has ever done good by anyone. — Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) September 20, 2016

Apart from being controversial, the tweet is not actually original. Joe Walsh, the former congressman and rightwing talk show host whose statements have been criticized as incendiary, has voiced similar ideas.

Hey @DonaldJTrumpJr, that's the point I made last month.



Glad you agree. pic.twitter.com/Nssw6KC1HY — Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) September 20, 2016

As well as the content of the tweet, some people took issue with Trump Jr’s grammar.

Beyond the blinding stupidity & accidental great argument for firing all cops, this was punctuated by an illiterate. pic.twitter.com/UfUowGGjI9 — Nima Shirazi (@WideAsleepNima) September 20, 2016

Some came with the facts.

If you told me that three @skittles in each bowl are poisonous, I'd look at the data and conclude that you're wrong about Skittle safety. — matt blaze (@mattblaze) September 20, 2016

Each green dot represents 3 refugees admitted to the U.S. since 9/11. None of them will kill you. And none of them are Skittles. pic.twitter.com/FhgRJCNdTt — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 20, 2016

And others responded with humour.

I think we should stop eating any #Skittles. Just until we find out what's going on. — Randi Mayem Singer (@rmayemsinger) September 20, 2016

TRUMP CAMPAIGN: what if we told you three skittles in this bowl are-

ME: *in front of empty bowl of skittles, through mouthful* mmf whhf? — Nicky Woolf (@NickyWoolf) September 20, 2016

One Twitter user has suggested how Wrigley, the company that owns Skittles, could respond.

Here @Skittles I got you. "For every pack of Skittles you buy between now and Nov. 8, we'll donate $1 to support refugees." — Kyle (@heydudekyle) September 20, 2016

A spokeswoman for Wrigley later told the Guardian that Trump Jnr’s analogy was inappropriate.

“Skittles are candy. Refugees are people. We don’t feel it is an appropriate analogy,” she said.

“We will respectfully refrain from further commentary as anything we say could be misinterpreted as marketing.”