After yesterday's shocking events in London it was a time when the world needed to show solidarity with the capital and offer support and understanding for the awful events that unfolded. Donald Trump Jr however expressed his views in a tweet referring to a comment London Mayor Sadiq Khan made months ago.
Trump Jr's tweet
In his tweet Trump Jr quoted an article written in September 2016 where Khan states that Terrorism has become 'part and parcel' of living in a big city. In his tweet Trump says 'you have to be kidding me?'. Many Britons have been angered by this message for the implication that Khan made his comments immediately after the attack and also that he, Trump, is exploiting the attack for his own motives.
Wednesday's attack
During the attack on Wednesday 22nd March, exactly one year to the day after the terrorist attack in Brussels, a man drove a car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before attacking and stabbing to death a policeman. The attacker was shot dead by police.
September's article
The article quoted by Mr Trump Jr was from The Independent in September 2016 shortly before Mr Khan met with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio the day after three bombs had exploded in and around the city injuring 29 people. Khan said the incident had given him a 'sleepless night' and that inhabitants of large cities like New York and London needed to be 'vigilant' in view of possible terror attacks.
The backlash to Trump Jr
MPs and other Twitter users sprang to Mr Khan's support immediately with Wes Streeting MP calling Mr Trump Jr a 'disgrace' for using the attack for his own political gain. Others criticized Trump's timing of the post implying that the quote from Khan was made immediately after the event.
Sadiq Khan's response
Mr Khan, for his part, has refused to enter into the fray, preferring instead to say in an interview that he wouldn't reply to the tweet as he had been "doing far more important things over the past 24 hours". What is important, Khan said, is that terrorists see that London is unbowed and Parliament is back in session. He added that what terrorists hate is that large cities like London, Paris and New York have " diverse communities living together peacefully".
