Trump vs. May: The Tweets That Are Straining the US-UK Relationship


Trump retweeted three videos containing anti-Muslim content, sparking criticism from the British prime minister who was later blasted by the U.S. president.

On Wednesday this week, U.S. President Donald Trump retweeted videos containing anti-Muslim content that had been posted on Twitter by a British far-right group. The act has sparked outrage in the U.K., including from Prime Minister Theresa May.

The aggressive videos, posted by Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of Britain First, showed people who were reportedly Muslim, and one of the videos was titled “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches,” while another showed an Islamist mob pushing a teenager off a roof.

In a third video, another presumed Muslim destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary, a recording that has been on YouTube since 2013 and is described as the destruction of an icon by a jihadi in Syria.

Although Trump only retweeted the videos without comment, his actions quickly sparked criticism across the United Kingdom, including from Prime Minister May and several deputies. “British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right which is the antithesis of the values this country represents; decency, tolerance and respect. It is wrong for the president to have done this,” said the spokesman for May.

Hours later, Trump lashed out at May for her criticism.

“@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!” he wrote on Twitter.

Trump’s involvement in U.K. politics and foreign affairs has strained the historically close relationship between the two nations. On previous occasions, the U.S. president infuriated the British authorities with his tweets about terrorism in the country.

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