Trump lands himself in a fiasco after re-tweeting anti-Muslim videos
US President Donald Trump is no stranger to Twitter controversies. However, he might have taken it too far this time around. He re-tweeted inflammatory anti-Muslim videos posted by a British right-wing group, raking up a storm over his supposed extremist leanings. In response to Trump's tweet, British PM Theresa May's official spokesperson said, "it was wrong for the president to have done this."
What did Trump re-tweet?
The source of Trump's first re-tweet came from Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of British right-wing group Britain First. It shows a Muslim migrant attacking a man on crutches. In a second video, a Muslim man is seen destroying a statue of Virgin Mary. The third video captured during the 2013 riots in Egypt shows a man being pushed off a building in Alexandria.
Critics slam Trump, express shock at his endorsement
The Netherlands Embassy in the US tweeted, "facts do matter." It clarified that the man shown in the first video was born and raised in Netherlands and was accorded lawful punishment for his actions. "What the hell are you doing?" tweeted TV presenter Piers Morgan, who calls himself the "president's friend." Rights groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, slammed Trump for fuelling Islamophobia.
White House: "Real threats" have to be talked about
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders justified Trump's tweet and said, "whether it's a real video (or not), the threat is real." She also said that other world leaders, including British PM Theresa May, knew these threats had to be talked about.
What could be going on in Trump's mind?
Trump has frequently resorted to Twitter to weigh in on sensitive religious, political and diplomatic issues. He has attributed the rising number of terror-incidents in the UK to the rise of "radical Islamic terror." BBC's Anthony Zurcher opines that Trump directs attention toward the UK to warn Americans of what could happen if his policies on immigration and border security are not implemented.
