Donald Trump endorses former baseball player candidate who collects Nazi memorabilia

Donald Trump has endorsed a former baseball player known for collecting Nazi memorabilia, who is considering running for Congress in Arizona.

Former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Curt Schilling said he was “absolutely considering” running, news which was greeted with support from Mr Trump.

In a tweet, the president said Mr Schilling was a “patriot” and called the news “terrific”.

Curt Schilling, a great pitcher and patriot, is considering a run for Congress in Arizona. Terrific! @foxandfriends

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2019

Mr Schilling is a collector of Nazi memorabilia, and has previously espoused opinions with antisemitic and Islamaphobic overtones.

In April 2015, Mr Schilling took to Facebook to promote his collection, photographing many of the items he owned including a jacket that purportedly belonged to Herman Göring, one of Adolf Hitler's inner circle.

 

 

A jacket owned by Curt Schilling that was purportedly Hermann Göring's

 

Commenting on the collection, he stated that his “SS Dagger with dress scabbard that might just be the creepiest thing ever.”

His collection was so large that he claimed he had started to sell items “due to space issues”.

In April 2017, Mr Schilling tweeted an article claiming Jewish billionaire George Soros was behind a chemical weapons attack in Syria. He has also interviewed white nationalist and antisemite Paul Nehlen for website Breitbart.

Mr Schilling originally voiced his intentions in an email to the Arizona Republic, in which he claimed that “making Arizona citizens of EVERY Race, religion and sexual orientation 2nd class citizens to illegal immigrants is about as anti-American as it gets.

“When you have homeless veterans, children, and you're spending tax dollars on people smuggling drugs and children across our border someone in charge needs their ass kicked.”