‘Don’t focus on the wrong thing,’ WH defends Trump despite ire in UK
The White House is defending US President Donald Trump’s anti-Islam retweets, which have drawn rebuke in the UK, reviving calls for revoking his planned visit to Britain.
The widely condemned retweets of unverified videos, posted by the leader of the far-right organization Britain First, Jayda Fransen, purportedly showed violence committed by Muslims.
"@realDonaldTrump you are not welcome in my country and my city," said Labour Party lawmaker David Lammy in a tweet on Wednesday, while another Labour legislator, Chuka Umunna, said directly that Trump's invitation to visit Britain "should be withdrawn."
The office of British Prime Minister Theresa May also described Trump’s move as “wrong” but announced that the visit is not cancelled.
"British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents — decency, tolerance and respect,” read a statement by May’s office. “It is wrong for the president to have done this."
.@Theresa_May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2017
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders appeared in a press conference to defend Trump’s move.
"I'm not talking about the nature of the video,” she told reporters. “I think you're focusing on the wrong thing. The threat is real and that is what the president is talking about… Those are very real things. There is nothing fake about that.”
The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also condemned the retweets, arguing that the Republican president is “clearly telling members of his base that they should hate Islam and Muslims.”
“Trump’s posts amount to incitement to violence against American Muslims,” said the group’s executive director, Nihad Awad. “His actions should be condemned by all American political and religious leaders, regardless of their party or faith.”
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None of the videos have been independently authenticated so far.
The retweets have led to a massive backlash against Trump on both sides of the Atlantic, while serving as a publicity boost for Britain First and Fransen.
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