“IN AN INCREDIBLE DISPLAY of utter tastelessness, Donald Trump Jr. insisted in a rage-filled video on social media . . . that the Uvalde mass shooter could have killed 19 children with a ‘bat.’ Assault rifles are being stigmatized when ‘screwed up people’ are the real issues, he railed in a Facebook video . . . It’s the gun. it’s not the sociopath wielding it,’ people are claiming, he complained. ‘He wouldn’t have done the exact same thing with a bat, or a bomb or some sort of improvised devise — or a machete’?” — Mary Papenfuss, Huffpost, May 28

Rather than belabor the subjects of early education, assault rifles, the Second Amendment, etc., I decided to research Donald Trump Jr. and rifles, out of curiosity, and found the accompanying.

WHAT DOES ONE DO WITH A DEAD LEOPARD? Or for that matter, with an elephant carcass? Donald Jr., (above) holds in his right hand the knife with which he severed the dead elephant’s tail.

Over the past decade (or more), the Trump boys, mainly Donald, have blown away everything from prairie dogs (Montana) to crocodiles. TMZ reported in 2012 that Donald Jr. and Eric went on a hunting safari in Zimbabwe a year earlier, and killed an elephant, crocodile, kudu, civet cat and waterbuck.

Why?

Jack Carone from In Defense of Animals, said, "Would any intelligent person feel moved to murder a magnificent elephant, then further insult and desecrate it by hacking off his or her tail as an additional gesture of dominance?”

Generally, the word “intelligence” is seldom found in the same sentence referring to a Trump. 

A recently updated story says of a 2018 hunting expedition: “Utah hunting guide Wade Lemon faces five years in state prison for the death of a Carbon County bear killed during a guided hunt on May 18, 2018.” Lemon baited the shooting site with various sweet goodies. “Lemon, a well-known guide, didn’t pull the trigger — Donald Trump Jr. did, according to the Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR).”

Trump Jr. is not named in the filing against Lemon, but the DNR confirmed his identity as the person named in the felony complaint as Lemon’s “client” on the hunt. Prosecutors indicated there was no evidence showing Trump Jr. would have known about the alleged baiting that went on during the hunt.

Whatever the case, just add “bear” to the list of kills.

In June of 2020, CNN reported: ”Donald Trump Jr.’s trip to Mongolia last August, where he hunted a rare breed of giant sheep, cost US taxpayers about $75,000 in Secret Service protection, according to documents obtained by a government watchdog group . . .” The story spoke of Donald Trump Jr.’s and one of his son’s hunt for Argali sheep, the largest species of sheep, noted for their giant horns.

Argali are considered a near-threatened species. Results of the hunt were not reported.

Trump Jr. is an avid trophy hunter who uses his wealth to travel across the globe to kill rare animals and has often been in hot water over his controversial escapades.

In 2018, Trump Jr. reportedly spent three days on a trophy hunting trip and shot two Iberian ibex in Spain.

In 2019, there were more escapades: Trump Jr. auctioned off several hunting trips with himself for Hunter Nation, a group with the self-proclaimed mission “to restore hunters to their rightful place as America’s truest conservationists and protectors of our herds, flocks, and fisheries in the minds of policymakers and the general public through effective public relations media campaigns.” The group’s social media page is filled with trophy hunters gloating over slain animals, including cougars, wolves, and bears.

“Our Green Planet” quoted further “In February 2020 at SCI’s [Safari Club International] annual convention — where wealth, privilege, and power come together to share a revolting, common goal to mow down the world’s rarest and most beloved wildlife — Donald Trump Jr. was the headliner. He not only spoke to a room filled with fellow trophy hunters, but he also worked the crowd, enticing attendees to bid on an opportunity to hunt with him. The two winning bidders paid $340,000 to join him for what was promoted as a 'dream hunt' on a luxury yacht in Alaska to kill black-tailed deer and sea ducks.”

I suppose in another 15 years or so young Donald will become bored with shooting guns and the mere accumulation of money and seek some form of worship and dominance through the holding of high public office.