Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday compared immigrants to zoo animals in a controversial post to Instagram regarding the wall his father wants to build along the US-Mexico border.

Trump Jr. shared the post via his Instagram story, which said, "You know why you can enjoy a day at the zoo? Because walls work."

Trump Jr.'s social media habits, much like his father's, have often landed him in hot water.

Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday compared immigrants to zoo animals in a controversial Instagram post regarding the wall his father wants to build along the US-Mexico border.

Though the post does not appear on his main profile, a source close to Trump Jr. pointed out to INSIDER that it was shared via the Instagram story feature. It will delete after 24 hours.

Trump Jr.'s post said, "You know why you can enjoy a day at the zoo? Because walls work."

Many on social media took screenshots of the post, as it sparked widespread backlash against Trump Jr.

Trump Jr.'s post came amid a partial government shutdown as Democrats in Congress butt heads with the president on the border wall issue, and on the same night his father delivered a nationally-televised speech on border security.

A spokesman for Trump Jr. defended his Instagram post and said he was simply advocating for safety.

"Don's post was strictly about illustrating the danger and violence that comes with unsecured borders, a danger I may add that far too many angel moms know too well," the spokesman told INSIDER on Wednesday. "Anyone insinuating otherwise is simply attempting to create a phony controversy out of thin air to distract from Don's point that walls equal safety."

This is not the first time Trump Jr. has incited public outcry regarding his stance on immigration issues.

President Donald Trump's eldest son was broadly condemned during the 2016 presidential campaign when he compared Syrian refugees to a bowl of Skittles in which some of the candies were poisoned.

Read more: Meet Charlie Kirk, the 25-year-old self-declared free speech absolutist and BFF to Trump Jr. who's rapidly taking over the conservative movement

Trump Jr.'s Tuesday night Instagram post was not far off from statements made by his father. In May 2018, the president compared some groups of immigrants to animals.

"We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in, we're stopping a lot of them, but we're taking people out of the country, you wouldn't believe how bad these people are," Trump said during a meeting with California lawmakers and officials..

"These aren't people. These are animals, and we're taking them out of the country at a rate that's never happened before," Trump added.

Read more: Trump says some dangerous unauthorized immigrants 'aren't people' but 'animals' who will be rapidly kicked out of the US

Trump Jr.'s social media habits, much like his father's, have often landed him in hot water. He's gained a reputation for sharing incorrect or misleading information.

In October 2018, for example, he got the date of the midterm elections wrong in a tweet as he called on people to get out and vote. And on Wednesday, he tweeted an article that was two years old regarding an increase in auto factory jobs in the US, presumably celebrating it as a new development.

But Trump Jr. also remains one of his father's most impactful surrogates, and continues to gain popularity among some groups of conservatives.

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