Trump sparks outrage in UK with tweet to May after sharing far-right videos

ENGLAND - US President Donald Trump, in an unprecedented public attack on America’s closest security ally, sharply rebuked British Prime Theresa May on Twitter after Britain criticized him for retweeting British far-right anti-Islam videos. “Theresa @theresamay, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine,” Trump tweeted, sparking further outrage in Britain that has seen several major Islamist militant attacks on its streets.

Trump’s unrepentant response was a reaction to May’s spokesman who on Wednesday criticized his retweets of anti-Islam videos originally posted by a leader of a British far-right fringe group.

“It is wrong for the president to have done this,” the spokesman said.

Trump sparked criticism on both sides of the Atlantic on Wednesday by sharing anti-Muslim videos posted by Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the group Britain First, who was convicted this month of abusing a Muslim woman.

His new response triggered outrage in Britain, with some opposition politicians demanding he apologize for his sharp words to May.

Islamist militants have carried out several major attacks in Britain this year that have killed a total of 36 people, including a bombing in Manchester and two attacks on bridges in London in which victims were rammed with vehicles and stabbed. A spokesman for May’s Downing Street office in London declined to comment on Trump’s tweet yesterday. May was on a trip to the Middle East and was expected to speak to media in Jordan.

Trump initially addressed his tweet to a Twitter handle that was not May‘s, though he later retweeted to the British leader’s correct account. Always a pillar of Britain’s foreign policy, the socalled “special relationship” with Washington has taken on added importance as Britain prepares to leave the European Union in 2019. Since Trump became president, May has gone out of her way to cultivate a good relationship with him.

She was the first foreign leader to visit him after his inauguration, and they were filmed emerging from the White House holding hands. She also invited him to make a state visit to Britain, angering Trump’s many critics in Britain.

Trump’s tweet triggered outraged reaction in Britain, including from Brendan Cox, the husband of lawmaker Jo Cox who was murdered in 2016 by a far-right extremist.

(Reuters.com)