Trump tweet on London police draws U.K. rebuke

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s suggestion that London police could have done more to prevent a homemade bomb explosion drew speedy pushback Friday from British Prime Minister Theresa May.

In a series of early-morning tweets, 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.”

The bomb exploded on a packed train during morning rush hour Friday, leaving at least 22 people injured but no one with life-threatening injuries. Police said the explosion was a terrorist attack, the fifth in Britain this year.

Trump told reporters Friday morning he had been briefed on the explosion, but did not provide further details.

Trump’s National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster suggested later that Trump was speaking generally. Noting that law enforcement has been working to combat terrorism for years, McMaster said “if there was a terrorist attack here, God forbid, that we would say that they were in the sights of the FBI.”

“I think he means generally that this kind of activity is what we are trying to prevent,” McMaster said.

The White House said Trump and May spoke Friday. During the call, Trump offered sympathies and “pledged to continue close collaboration with the United Kingdom to stop attacks worldwide targeting innocent civilians and to combat extremism.”

The brief statement did not say if the two discussed Trump’s tweet. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it “may have come up.”

Trump has lobbed trans-Atlantic criticism after previous attacks.

In June, after attacks in the London Bridge area that claimed seven lives, London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned locals not to be alarmed by the large presence of armed officers on the capital’s streets. Trump accused the mayor — whom he has long sparred with — on Twitter of suggesting there was “no reason to be alarmed” by the attack itself.