Trump’s tough talk irks British leader
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that London police could have done more to prevent Friday’s homemade bomb explosion drew a quick rejoinder from British Prime Minister Theresa May, who said it’s never helpful “to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation.”
Trump turned the London subway bomb explosion into an opportunity to highlight his tough talk on terror and promote his travel ban.
The president’s series of earlymorning tweets about the stillunfolding investigation stood in contrast to his delay last month in firmly condemning Neo-Nazis and white supremacists after racial violence broke out in Charlottesville, Va., and left one person dead.
At the time, he said: “When I make a statement, I like to be correct. I want the facts … I don’t want to rush into a statement.”
The London bomb exploded on a packed train during morning rush hour Friday, leaving at least 29 people injured but no one with life-threatening injuries. Police said the explosion was a terrorist attack, the fifth in Britain this year.
On Twitter, Trump called the explosion another attack “by a loser terrorist.”
He also offered implied criticism of law enforcement, saying “these are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!”
Asked about Trump’s comments, May said: “I never think it’s helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation.”
Trump told reporters Friday morning that he had been briefed on the explosion, but did not provide further details.
Trump also used the moment to argue on Twitter that his travel ban targeting six mostly Muslim nations should be “far larger, tougher and more specific — but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!”