By Helen Chernikoff June 11, 2020

In a tweet Thursday morning, President Trump abbreviated “Secret Service” to “S.S.” — also the abbreviation for the Schutzstaffel, a paramilitary organization created by Adolf Hitler. One of its units was responsible for enforcing Nazi racial policy.

The accepted abbreviation for the Secret Service is USSS, and Trump has tweeted using that form in the past.

The Jewish Democratic Council of America called the tweet “Another dog whistle to white supremacists and neo-Nazis.” Adding, “@realDonaldTrump is the biggest threat to American Jews.”

Trump is known for his cavalier manner with spelling, punctuation and capitalization on Twitter, but in this case he may well have abbreviated the name of his team of personal bodyguards merely to make sure his tweet fit, as it exactly fits Twitter’s 280-character limit.

Related story: Did Donald Trump Keep Hitler Speeches By His Bed?

Jewish Twitter took note.

Others pointed out that the Secret Service’s actual abbreviation is USSS, which also would have fit within the character limit.

The tweet followed a series on Wednesday night in which Trump threatened to take control of the city of Seattle, the site of intense protest.

“These ugly Anarchists must be stooped IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!” the president wrote.

The SS was responsible for deporting Jews to concentration camps and ghettos, and was the main group tasked with murdering Jews as a part of Hitler’s “Final Solution.” The historian Richard Rhodes wrote that they existed “outside the bounds of morality.”

SS officers had to prove Aryan ancestry. SS officers were also paid more than other soldiers because they were expected to have more children to pass on their elite genes in keeping with Nazi doctrine.

Related story: That Time Donald Trump’s Father Was Arrested At A KKK Rally In Queens

Helen Chernikoff is The Forward’s senior news editor. Contact her at chernikoff@forward.com or follower her on Twitter @thesimplechild

Molly Boigon contributed reporting.

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