U.S. President Donald Trump has used the terrorist attack in London on Friday to promote his hard-line policies, and in the process, he blamed British police that they had information about the alleged terrorists and still failed to react properly, not giving any evidence to confirm this claim, The New York Times reports.
Tweeting several times, Trump cited the chaotic scene in a London Underground station as “Exhibit A for his hard-line policies”. His ban on visitors from predominantly Muslim countries, he wrote, should be “far larger, tougher and more specific”.
But Trump’s assertion that the assailants had been known to Scotland Yard angered UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who said it was not helpful for anyone to speculate while an investigation was underway. Trump was later briefed about the attack and called May with condolences, according to a senior official, though he did not apologize.
It was the latest episode in which Trump was at odds with Britain over sensitive security issues. In June, he criticized London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, over his response to another terrorist attack, misconstruing Khan’s words. In March, the White House press secretary at the time, Sean Spicer, repeated allegations that a British intelligence agency had wiretapped Trump Tower, which British authorities dismissed as “utterly ridiculous.”
Trump’s assertions were also a sign that for all the talk about a more disciplined White House under the new chief of staff, John F. Kelly — who has urged the president to have tweets vetted by his aides — Trump was still determined not to censor himself on social media and was fully capable of roiling the diplomatic waters with a single unguarded post.
White House officials tried to ease the tense situation, by saying that the president was referring to the longstanding efforts of the British law enforcement officials to investigate would-be terrorists, not to anyone involved in Friday’s attack.
“What the president was communicating is that obviously all of our law enforcement efforts are focused on this terrorist threat for years,” the national security adviser, Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster stated. “Scotland Yard has been a leader, as our FBI has been a leader.”
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