Trump tweet features Nazi imagery

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared to use an image of Nazi reenactors in the place of Americans marching in front of the White House in a tweet on Tuesday.

A soldier in the image seems to be wearing a “dot” camouflage uniform worn by the Waffen SS, an armed wing of Germany’s Nazi Party.

The image was released by Trump’s Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon, and featured the business mogul and surging Republican White House contender silhouetted in an American flag alongside the soldiers, a picture of the White House and $100 bills.

{mosads}The soldiers also appear to be wearing uniforms with arm bands and an eagle icon distinctive of the Waffen SS, claimed John Schindler, a former professor at the Naval War College and retired intelligence official. Their helmets also reminiscent of the iconic Stahlhem used by German troops during World War II.

“100% certain Waffen-SS ID on the Trump pic,” Schindler — a conservative national security analyst — tweeted. 

Other historians confirmed to The Hill that the uniforms appeared similar to those used by Nazi troops.

The picture was later linked to stock photos of modern-day reenactors in the Nazi gear, marching across a grassy field.

“We need real leadership. We need results,” the image declares at the bottom. “Let’s put the U.S. back into business!”

The image was tweeted along with the hashtag #MakeAmericaGreatAgain, which has been Trump’s slogan. 

It was deleted about an hour later, after an inquiry from The Hill and criticism from online pundits.

aaaandd trump deleted his nazi 2016 tweet. but screenshots are forever pic.twitter.com/pTpuVZv9xH

— Joe Perticone (@Joe_Perticone) July 14, 2015

A spokesman for Trump said that the candidate had been in Charlottesville, Va., all day “at the opening of a development” and was uninvolved in the creation of the image.

“A young intern created and posted the image and did not see the very faded figures within the flag of the stock photo,” Michael Cohen said. “The intern apologized and immediately deleted the tweet.”

Trump has repeatedly found himself in hot water from some corners of the political universe in the few weeks since his campaign rollout, yet he has nonetheless dominated national headlines and remains high in the polls.

A new national poll released by USA Today and Suffolk University on Tuesday showed that Trump was the first choice of 17 percent of Republicans, putting him above every other GOP presidential contender.