Trump under fire for controversial Star of David tweet

US Republican presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump on Saturday deleted a tweet critical of his rival, Hillary Clinton after he came under fire for what was called ‘anti-Semitic stereotypes’ with a graphic that included dollar bills and a six-pointed star that resembled ‘Star of David’.

Before deleting the original tweet, which also contained the words "most corrupt candidate ever," Trump tweeted the same graphic with a tweak: a circle instead of a six-pointed star, which evokes the Jewish Star of David.

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski dismissed the controversy in an interview with CNN's Brianna Keilar on "State of the Union" Sunday.

"A tweet is a simple tweet, and the bottom line is you can read into things that are not there. You know, this is a simple star," Lewandowski said, according to CNN.

He said it's "the same star that sheriff's departments all over the place" use for their badges.

"To read into something that isn't there is -- you know what, again, I think that's the mainstream media trying to attack Donald Trump for something that isn't there," he said.

Lewandowski added that criticism of the star is "political correctness run amok."

But the backlash on Twitter was immediate.

"A Star of David, a pile of cash, and suggestions of corruption. Donald Trump again plays to the white supremacists," said Erick Erickson, a leading anti-Trump conservative.

Erickson quickly added, "For all the people saying 'It's not a Star of David,' why then did Trump tweet it again after replacing it with a circle?"