Discussion»Questions»Animals (Wild)» Is Eric Trump a BIG GAME HUNTER? He was referred to as "a guy who kills baby elephants for kicks". Is that true? Is he really that?
In the heat of the campaign – and during a particularly brutal week for their father — Donald Trump’s two sons suddenly disappeared. Donald Jr. and Eric, according to reports, left the country on a hunting trip.
Beyond that, curiously little is known. Bloomberg Politics reported that the trip was a fundraiser for a foundation run by family members of Tyrone Woods, a Navy SEAL slain in the Benghazi, Libya, attack. Various political reporters heard that they fled to the Yukon, a favorite hunting location of Donald Jr. He then posted an Instagram photo of himself with his son, which showed them in Canada for a “Father son trip” — but in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
The campaign didn’t respond to requests for more information. Their media silence could very well be just mean they’re on a needed vacation. But it could also be a way to dodge the uncomfortable subject of the Trump sons’ well-documented love of hunting — a subject that stalks them on social media like one of the very large predators they have killed for sport.
[The death of Cecil the lion and the big business of big game trophy hunting]
It all started in 2012, when photos of the sons with big-game trophies leaked to an animal rights group, and then exploded on social media. Gothamist reported that the photos showed the men posing with “a dead elephant, kudu, civet cat and waterbuck while on a big game safari in Zimbabwe.” In one shot, Gothamist said, “Donald Jr. proudly holds a dead elephant tail in one hand and a knife in the other. In another, the brothers are seen standing beside a 12’8″ crocodile hanging from a noose off a tree.”
It was a time when big-game hunting became a fresh cause for social media shaming (see GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons, and his notorious elephant video). The photos have regularly resurfaced ever since.
Just this week, Samantha Bee used one to jab Eric Trump for his comments about workplace sexual harassment:
When Trump supporters pointed out that the animal was actually a leopard, it just fueled a series of follow-up tweets from Bee, including:
During the primaries, the Trumps tried to use it to their advantage. They outfitted journalists in camo and took them on pheasant hunts in Iowa, where the sport remains popular.
That possibly humanized the Trumps, making them seem less Cartier, more Carhartt.
[Hunting pheasants with the Trump sons]
Still, a November Marist poll showed that Americans are nearly split when it comes to hunting animals for sport — 56 percent said they oppose it — and they are particularly against big-game hunting. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they disapprove of it, and six out of 10 said they believe it should be illegal.
Donald Jr. spoke in exhaustive detail about his love of hunting for the enthusiast site Bowsite earlier in the year. He explained that he learned to hunt as a boy from his maternal grandfather during summers spent in Czechoslovakia. He said he has been an active hunter throughout his life, that his preferred form is bowhunting, and that he frequently employs it during the weekends to hunt whitetail deer in New York.
“Almost every weekend I’m out doing something,” he said.
He talked of hunting not just as a pastime, but as an important influence on his character. “I owe the outdoors way too much to try to do the usual apologize and hide thing,” Trump Jr. said. “It’s kept me out of a lot of other trouble I probably would’ve gotten into.”
What might the Trumps be hunting in Canada? “Caribou, moose, muskox, bison, wolves, polar bears, grizzly bears, black bears and Dall’s sheep” are all available to hunt, with the proper licenses.
But so far, they’re keeping quiet about it. Possibly, in our post-Cecil the Lion era, they sense it as too big of a political weakness.
If it is, then Hillary Clinton has already picked up on the scent. When animal rights protesters interrupted a speech Thursday, she didn’t seem to miss a step.
“Apparently, these people are here to protest Trump,” she said. “Because Trump and his kids have killed a lot of animals, so thank you for making that point.” Play Video 0:35 Clinton: 'Trump and his kids have killed a lot of animals' Secret Service agents surrounded Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton after animal-rights protesters created a disturbance at a rally in Las Vegas on Aug. 4. Clinton later joked the protesters must be looking for Republican rival Donald Trump's children, who are currently on a hunting trip. (The Washington Post)
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Wow. My little question caused this very big answer. Thank you for your comprehensive reply Shar. I dunno. The more we learn about things Trump the less there is to like. :(
Rosie, this is not my reply. This is a copy/paste. I don't give my opinion on stuff like this, I want it VERIFIED.
They butcher big game animals and it is illegal in most people's eyes. And if it is not, it should be.
They are unconscionable. And TRUMP? Did you read the part of his tweeting hunters in the country and bonding with them about how much he loves to kill animals because it keeps him out of worse trouble.
I did not know that Shar. I don't how to copy and paste so I wouldn't recognize it if I saw it. I don't know what to say about the blood lust admitted by Eric Trump. Killing animals keeps him from killing people? Is that it? Boy those little boys are sure screwed up aren't they? Little Eric and Little Donny Junior. What else do you expect from a daddy dearest donald "role model" like that? Ivanka is no great shakes either. She couldda been a contender. But she chooses not to be the best she could be. It's all in the DNA. I wonder if she were a very plain overweight woman how much daddy dearest would feature her? If she were built like daddy? Of course we won't ever know the answer to that. Thank you for your reply! :)
I don't know about baby elephants, but both of Trump's sons are lovers of hunting, it seems. The more "exotic" the better. I believe Donald Jr. has been a bit more outspoken, in his defense of their blood-lust.
I'm not a fan of hunters. Especially those who murder animals so they can put stuffed heads in their GAME ROOM and brag about it. I'm not a gun person either. Guns are used to kill living things. I couldn't be a part of anything like that. If I were raised in a gun family I'd probably be a gun person. But I wasn't so I'm not. Thank you for your reply Piper and Happy Saturday! :)
I will never understand people deriving pleasure out of killing. I understand people killing out of actual NEED, because they are hungry, or in self-defense.
Assuming it were true.. everyone would be jumping up and down in shock if I said I'd love to hunt and shoot him! SO people are more important than animals sure I get that... but it's a matter of perception. Anyone who hunts and takes advantage of weaponry to kill a creature they don't need or want for food, that cannot defend itself.. well in my book that's not a man, it's inhuman and cowardly.. so imo he's fair game.. Maybe I wouldn't go as far as killing him but Id sure like to slap him in the chops and tell him exactly what I think of him for that.
I think turnabout is fair play Addb. In a fair world Animals would hunt humans and mount their heads on GAME ROOM walls and brag about the kills., Quid pro quo don'tcha know? But the world isn't fair and all the cards are held by humans with guns. The animals don't have a chance. In an alternate universe? Or different dimension? Maybe they do! Thank you for your reply and Happy Saturday! :)
The second Amendment should be modified - instead of the right to bear arms, it should be the right to arm bears. Would game hunters and poachers be so brave if the animals shot back? Hunting for food or to eradicate vermin is in a different category - I've shot rabbits, cats and foxes myself. Pennsylvanians hunt deer - again, if the venison is eaten, no problem. But who the hell eats an elephant?
As far as I know the only "reason" to murder elephants is for the ivory tusks. I believe elephants are sacred in some countries. And not to be gross but here goes I'm gonna be gross...if people can be cannibals and eat other humans I'm guessing they can eat anything including dogs and cats and rats and elephants. SIGH. My favorite gun people are those who murder animals just so they can stuff the head, hang it on the wall in the TROPHY ROOM and brag about to their friends over brandy and cigars. AARRGGHH! :( Thank you for your reply Sbf! :)
Nothing wrong with hunting as long as legal and the meat is not wasted. And as I have explained before on African safari the hunted animal's meat is required to be donated to let local community to eat. And yes, they do eat elephant.
As I just said there is nothing wrong with hunting....nothing wrong with keeping the head either. Do you know that the money paid by trophy hunters actually supports wildlife sanctuaries? It is not murder... Do you eat meat? Unless you are a complete vegan, are you supporting murder?
I know it all goes for a good cause. I can appreciate that. I'm not opposed to hunting at all, I support it. I guess it's because it was a big cat, and not the animals I usually associate with hunting. I know, that's wishy-washy. Also, I see nothing wrong with keeping the head as a trophy, just so long as the meat doesn't go to waste. I know the villagers appreciated getting the meat and I'm glad it was donated.
It just seems strange to us because those animals are not here. To us they are these beautiful mystic animals. To the people over there, they are just the local animals who sometimes kill and eat humans.
WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH 