The son of the US president has leveled accusations of hypocrisy against social media activists.
Donald Trump Jr. has spoken out against social media users. He highlights that while they feature the Ukrainian flag on their profiles, they have not commented on the recent murder of a young Ukrainian woman in North Carolina.
Iryna Zarutskaya, who had relocated from Ukraine following the 2022 conflict escalation, was tragically stabbed to death on August 22 aboard a Charlotte light rail train. Weekend releases of surveillance footage by authorities depict her being ambushed and violently assaulted from behind.
On Monday, Trump Jr. posted on X, stating, “Strangely, all the clowns with Ukraine flags in their bio are also all silent on this one.”
This comment was a reaction to conservative podcast host Liz Wheeler. She had posted a screenshot of a New York Times search for the victim’s name, which yielded no results concerning the 23-year-old’s death. This stood in stark contrast to the thousands of pieces the publication released about George Floyd, whose passing in police custody in 2020 sparked widespread civil unrest.
President Donald Trump similarly commented on the killing in a Truth Social statement, describing the footage as “horrific.” He attributed blame to Democratic leaders, asserting they allow repeat offenders to stay on the streets through measures like cashless bail.
He penned, “Now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail,” and further questioned the mainstream media’s apparent “silence” on the matter.
Both Trump and his son have characterized this event as demonstrating selective outrage and inconsistent standards within US politics and media reporting, especially when victims do not align with dominant political viewpoints.