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President Trump lashes out at London Mayor after terror attack

Posted at 11:59 AM, Jun 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-05 11:59:23-04

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday, a day after attacking his handling of the weekend’s terror attack in the city.

Trump, writing on Twitter Monday, said: “Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his ‘no reason to be alarmed’ statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!”

It is the second day that Trump has twisted the mayor’s words. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Khan said there was “no cause for alarm” when referring to a visible increase in police activity on the streets of London.

Trump appeared to misconstrue the statement on Sunday when he tweeted: “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is “no reason to be alarmed!”

Khan’s spokesman repeated his response of a day earlier: “Nothing has changed since yesterday. The Mayor is focused on dealing with Saturday’s horrific and cowardly attack and working with the police, the emergency services and the Government to keep London safe.”

Prime Minister Theresa May came to Khan’s defense, saying he was doing a “good job” and that they were working together closely in the wake of the weekend attack.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (C) and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick (Centre L) make a statement after visiting Borough High Street in London on June 5, 2017, the site of the June 3 terror attack, near to Borough Market.
British police on Monday made several arrests in two dawn raids following the June 3 London attacks, claimed by the Islamic State group which left seven people dead. (PHOTO: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)

“I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it’s wrong to say anything else – he’s doing a good job,” May told reporters after general election campaign speech.

May declined to directly criticize Trump for his tweet, which has prompted a fierce backlash in Britain.

Asked what it would take for her to publicly criticize the US President, May suggested that she “was not afraid” to speak out when Trump “gets things wrong.”

“I’ve been very clear, I’ve been very happy to say when I think President Trump is wrong — to have taken America out of the climate change agreement, the Paris agreement,” May said. “So I’m not afraid to say when I think President Trump is getting things wrong.”