In the immediate aftermath of a terror attack outside UK Parliament that killed five and wounded 40, US President Donald Trump's son criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan. In doing so, Trump Jr dug up an almost six-month-old statement by Khan.
Khan – in the wake of a bombing in the Chelsea neighbourhood of New York in September 2016 – had said the preparedness for terror attacks is "part and parcel of living in a big city," and that Londoners should be correspondingly "vigilant".
Quoting Khan’s old remark, Trump Jr tweeted on Wednesday:
Twitterati didn’t react kindly to Trump’s son quoting mayor Sadiq Khan out of context. Like Donald Jr himself, they dug up instances from his past which would lead anyone to ask ‘are you kidding me?’
The White House, on the other hand, issued a more conciliatory response to the terrorist attack on Wednesday. US President Trump spoke by phone with British Prime Minister Theresa May, CNN reported.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said it would be "irresponsible" to speculate this soon on what precisely happened or who was responsible.
Khan and Trump had sharp words for one another during the US election campaign last year. Khan, who is Muslim, criticised Trump’s immigration ban, and Trump at one point challenged the London Mayor to an IQ test.
(With inputs from IANS)
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