Trump renews Twitter attacks on London’s mayor
US President Donald Trump has renewed his Twitter attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the second time in less than 48 hours since a terrorist attack in the British capital. Trump accused Khan, the first Muslim mayor of the city, of offering a “pathetic excuse” for remarks that the US president misinterpreted about policing in response to Saturday’s attack that left several people dead.
Trump tweeted that Khan had to “think fast” to excuse comments that Londoners need not be alarmed after the deadly attack. After the deadly incident, Khan said, “Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. No reason to be alarmed.”
Trump criticized the mayor without understanding the context. “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!'” he tweeted. The US president’s provocative comments caused outrage among top British officials. Even British Prime Minister Theresa May, a Conservative, expressed her support for the mayor, a member of the Labour Party.
“I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it’s wrong to say anything else — he’s doing a good job,” she told a press conference on Monday. Khan’s staff said he was too busy to respond to Trump’s tweets. “He has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more police — including armed officers — on the streets.”
In his Monday’s outburst, Trump also attacked the media for supporting Khan, saying they were “working hard” to sell the mayor’s argument. On Saturday night, three attackers targeted the heart of London. Seven people were killed and 48 injured when the assailants in a white van mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing a police officer and revelers in bars around Borough Market.
Two of London attackers named
Meanwhile, the British police on Monday named two of the three men who allegedly carried out the deadly London attack. One is identified as Khuram Butt, 27, and second as Rachid Redouane, 30, according to the police. Butt was married with children and lived in Barking, east London, for several years, the police said.
He once featured in a Channel 4 documentary about extremists with links to the banned group al-Muhajiroun. Butt’s parents are reportedly from Jhelum, a town in Pakistan’s Punjab province, but he had been brought up, educated and radicalized in Britain.
The Met Police said Redouane was Moroccan-Libyan. Assistant Commander Mark Rowley said, “Inquiries are ongoing to confirm the identity of their accomplice.” All three attackers were shot dead by police on Saturday night after the tragedy.
Source: Presstv