Trump says migrants are changing fabric of Europe
ELLESBOROUGH, ENGLAND» President Donald Trump pressed ahead Friday with his complaints that European immigration policies are changing the “fabric of Europe” and destroying European culture.
During a news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump backtracked on the criticism of May that he made in an explosive interview released as he began his visit to the country. But he reiterated his belief that Europe’s decision to accept migrants from Middle Eastern and African countries is “a very negative thing for Europe.”
Standing next to May at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country estate, Trump acknowledged that his remarks were “politically not necessarily correct.” But he said European countries need to “watch themselves.”
“You are changing culture. You are changing a lot of things,” he said, adding, “You see the same terror attacks that I do.”
“Over the years, overall immigration has been good for the U.K.”
Theresa May, British prime minister
Trump was reiterating a position he articulated in an interview released Thursday by The Sun newspaper, in which he also criticized May’s handling of Brexit negotiations and said “I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is very, very sad.”
May quickly rebutted Trump during their joint appearance, saying the United Kingdom has a “proud history of welcoming people who are fleeing persecution to our country.”
“Over the years, overall immigration has been good for the U.K.,” she added. “It’s brought people with different backgrounds, different outlooks here to the U.K. and we’ve seen them contributing to our society and our economy.”
Critics have faulted the president for using language that echoes white supremacist laments about the loss of white power.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., and born in the Dominican Republic, said Trump was “trying to throw gasoline on fire and begin a culture war, and it’s unfortunate that he’s divisive in the United States and he’s divisive in Europe as well.”
“We all tout our nation as being a nation of immigrants,” Espaillat said. “For him to characterize that as something negative that we should avoid is sort of going against the most important and fundamental tenets of our country.”
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., was born in Taipei, Taiwan. He said American culture is constantly changing through immigration.
“That’s what makes our country amazing and great,” Lieu said. “It is a continual renewal of our American ideals set forth in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence with every new successive generation.”
Trump said he believes that the U.K.’s Brexit vote in 2016 was in part a response to lax European immigration laws, and he has frequently tried to use Europe as a cautionary tale for the U.S., where he is seeking to implement more hawkish migration policies.
“Complete nonsense,” Hannah Weidemann, a German in her early 20s, said of Trump’s remarks. “All cultures change all the time. That’s important. You should be open to other cultures.”
“The U.S. is a country of immigrants,” she added. “People who say these things are afraid of what they don’t know.”
Her friend, Christy Wendt, said Berlin is an example of a multicultural city where people get along well. “Trump should know better,” she said. “His mother was an immigrant herself.”
Michael Cormack, 21, from England, also disagreed with Trump’s view that immigration is destroying European culture. “I think it’s doing the exact opposite,” he said. While small towns might struggle with the influx of immigrants, he said “in cities like London and Berlin, people just get on with it.”