Trump’s tweets earn rebuke from PM May
President Trump sparked a trans-Atlantic controversy in the hours after a subway bombing in London by suggesting British authorities might have been able to do more to prevent the terrorist attack.
“Another attack in London by a loser terrorist,” the president tweeted, even as information was still unfolding. “These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!”
It wasn’t clear what Trump was referring to or if he may have been accidentally revealing a sensitive piece of intelligence, but his tweet drew a rare rebuke from British Prime Minister Theresa May.
“I never think it’s helpful for anybody to speculate on what is an ongoing investigation,” May said when asked about Trump’s tweet.
The president also used the terror in London to launch into a tweet storm about what the U.S. must do to safeguard itself from similar attacks.
“Loser terrorists must be dealt with in a much tougher manner. The internet is their main recruitment tool which we must cut off & use better!” he tweeted. “The travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific — but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!
“We have made more progress in the last nine months against ISIS than the Obama Administration has made in 8 years. Must be proactive & nasty!” But it was his Scotland Yard comments that garnered the most press attention on both sides of the Atlantic.
“PM HITS BACK — Theresa May scolds ‘unhelpful’ Donald Trump,” blared The Sun tabloid, which called the dustup “a growing diplomatic row.”
Later, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster attempted to explain Trump’s tweet by suggesting he was merely speaking in general terms. Because law enforcement has been fighting terrorism for years, “if there was a terrorist attack here, God forbid that we would say that they were in the sights of the FBI,” McMaster said.
“I think he means generally that this kind of activity is what we are trying to prevent,” said McMaster.
Trump was briefed on the subway explosion and spoke to May where the tweet “may have come up,” according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Trump, during an event at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, vowed an end to the violence.
“Radical Islamic terrorism, it will be eradicated, believe me,” said Trump.