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Alyssa Milano compares Trump MAGA hat to white hoods worn by KKK

Picture:
Picture:
Brendan SMIALOWSKI /AFP

Actress Alyssa Milano drew heat for a tweet comparing Donald Trump’s red Make America Great Again hats to white hoods worn by white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan.

She tweeted:

The red MAGA hat is the new white hood.

Without white boys being able to empathise with other people, humanity will continue to destroy itself.

#FirstThoughtsWhenIWakeUp

The tweets comes after a confrontation that occurred at Lincoln Memorial Washington between a 64-year-old Native American war veteran, who had been playing his drums, and a group of mostly white teenagers donned in MAGA hats and hoodies.

Milano, who is a staunch women’s rights activist, tweeted about the confrontation that took place, which has been widely condemned.

In a separate tweet, she wrote:

Let’s not forget—this entire event happened because a group of boys went on a school-sanctioned trip to protest against a woman’s right to her own body and reproductive healthcare. It is not debatable that bigotry was at play from the start.

The students had attended an anti-abortion event called March for Life.

Actor Chris Evans was horrified at the viral video, which showed one of the students – Nick Sandmann – appear to square up to the war veteran (the student insisted he was trying to de-escalate the situation). He tweeted:

This is appalling. The ignorance. The gall. The disrespect. It’s shameful. And sadly on brand. When something like this isn’t [sic] even surprising, it’s evidence to our place in the cycle of recreating our darker chapters. That Native American man showed incredible strength and dignity

The ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan, plucked from history and made popular again by Donald Trump, is seen by many to be a symbol of racism.

The US president has often used the slogan to defend a host of discriminatory practises, including the infamous ‘travel ban’ from Muslim majority countries, and his controversial Mexico wall plans, which has shut down the government for almost one month.

Additionally, the slogan appears to hark back to some other time in America’s history, though it is unclear when that is.

Needless to say, Milano's comments inflammed people on both sides of the fence.

Trump supporters were quick to point out that black people supported him too...

... while others agreed with the actress.

More: Students in MAGA hats harass Native American protester

More: Mike Pence just compared Trump to Martin Luther King. Yes, really

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