The author J.K. Rowling has added her voice to those mocking Donald Trump Jr. for his Halloween “joke” about socialism.
On Tuesday night, Don Jr. tweeted a picture of his little daughter, Chloe, dressed in a police uniform and morosely displaying a bucket with some candy at the bottom.
“I’m going to take half of Chloe’s candy tonight & give it to some kid who sat at home. It’s never to early to teach her about socialism,” the tweet read.
Hundreds of Twitter users leapt at the chance to point out that it’s also not too late to teach her about spelling and grammar.
Betsey Stevenson, a public policy expert who served on President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, quote-retweeted the president’s son with an anecdote that demonstrated somewhat more generosity than he showed:
When I was 5, I ran a high fever on Halloween & stayed home. A neighbor gave me half her candy, teaching me the value of compassion & generosity. https://t.co/J8bwYOnjFK
— Betsey Stevenson (@BetseyStevenson) November 1, 2017
But Harry Potter creator Rowling, who rarely misses an opportunity to needle the Trump family on social media, delivered the most acidic retort.
“Fill her bucket with old candy left by her great-grandfather, then explain that she has more because she’s smarter than all the other kids,” Rowling tweeted.
Fill her bucket with old candy left by her great-grandfather, then explain that she has more because she's smarter than all the other kids. https://t.co/0lbhHYyFe4
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 1, 2017
Donald Trump Sr. famously got his start in the real estate business with a loan from his wealthy father Fred, who was in the same industry. The now-president claimed it was a “very small loan” of $1 million, though it was actually $14 million.
If Don Jr. is worried enough about socialism to be teaching his daughter of its evils at the age of three, his fear might not be so misplaced. Bernie Sanders-style (and arguably European-style) democratic socialism may be becoming more popular in the U.S., particularly among younger people.
A Harvard study last year showed that a majority of millennials now reject capitalism, although only a third would go so far as to say they support socialism. A Gallup poll around the same time found that 35% of Americans of all ages have a “positive view” of socialism, while 60% have a positive view of capitalism—figures that haven’t really shifted since the start of the decade.
