Trump’s support for Britain First sparks passionate reaction – with notable exceptions (THERESA MAY)
Donald Trump’s retweeting of hate messages by the far-right organisation Britain First has triggered a strong response from all sides of the UK’s political spectrum. But minority prime minister Theresa May has yet to offer any comment. Why?
Mr Trump retweeted messages by Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen, including one that purportedly showed violence by a Muslim – but actually didn’t. Ms Fransen then appeared to admit that her tweets were hate messages:
It should be remembered that murderer Thomas Mair named Britain First when he killed Jo Cox.
Her husband Brendan made his feelings about Mr Trump’s actions clear:
Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he’s trying to do it in ours. Spreading hatred has consequences & the President should be ashamed of himself.
— Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) November 29, 2017
He followed this message with a tweet thanking Americans who had contacted him to say Trump did not represent the rules and values of their country – and he is quite right to give recognition to that.
Trump's anti-Muslim retweets prompt backlash in Washington: 'The president is racist' https://t.co/7EVzyWWKJK
— The Guardian (@guardian) November 29, 2017
Mr Cox has also written an opinion piece in The Guardian:
By retweeting Britain First, Trump offends a decency he cannot understand | My piece in the Guardian https://t.co/kDmqhoCvTz
— Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) November 29, 2017
And he has appeared on TV, calling for Mr Trump’s planned visit to the UK to be cancelled:
Britain First retweets are "final nail in the coffin" for President Trump's state visit to the UK, says @MrBrendanCox https://t.co/dHfT4Fjllu pic.twitter.com/TkNhwLTFXe
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) November 29, 2017
Prominent figures from all sides of British politics have come together to condemn Mr Trump’s actions. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn led the charge of condemnation:
I hope our Government will condemn far-right retweets by Donald Trump. They are abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 29, 2017
#donaldtrump reading your tweets or the words that dribble out of the side of your mouth like a drunk's vomit sickens me as much as when as a teen I'd hear Hitler speak on the newsreels in 1930s Britain. https://t.co/aIbGoFTRHb
— John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) (@Harryslaststand) November 29, 2017
So POTUS has endorsed the views of a vile, hate-filled racist organisation that hates me and people like me. He is wrong and I refuse to let it go and say nothing
— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) November 29, 2017
I am a Jew
I feel attacks on Muslims, like that sent by President Trump today, as if they were attacks on me
All decent people must work together to stop these outrages— Tom London (@TomLondon6) November 29, 2017
Tory Nadhim Zahawi has written to Mr Trump, expressing his own outrage, as follows:
He wrote: “The videos you have chosen to distribute to your 43.6 million Twitter followers seek to conflate all Muslims into one skewed and twisted stereotype in the hope of inciting religious hatred toward the Islamic community. Whether the videos are valid or not, the individuals within them do not represent the overwhelming majority of those who adhere to the many forms of the Islamic faith.”
He continued: “I fear that your actions today have put in jeopardy some of the hard work done by our state bodies, making it easier for terrorist groups to portray our countries as their enemies and stoking the flames of radicalisation further.”
And he wrote: “I… urge you to delete the retweets and do all you can in future to resist courses of action that play into the hands of those who seek to destroy us and our way of life.”
Some of our politicians have been less forthcoming with their vilification.
Here’s our pitiful excuse for a Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson. His tweet is followed by one from the Artist Taxi Driver, Mark McGowan, offering a possible reason for Mr Johnson’s reluctance to condemn Mr Trump:
Fellow Conservative pic.twitter.com/vc0GAffnMr
— ARTIST TAXI DRIVER (@chunkymark) November 29, 2017
And what of our absentee prime minister, Theresa May?
She is currently on a junket around some Middle East countries that are predominantly – if not entirely – Muslim. But she could not bring herself to say anything against Mr Trump’s behaviour.
Nor has she responded to calls for his invitation to visit the UK to be rescinded, in the light of this clearly unacceptable behaviour:
MPs are demanding Theresa May cancel Trump's state visit after he retweeted Britain First https://t.co/enplPpTJka
— The Independent (@Independent) November 29, 2017
Perhaps Mrs May thinks that Mr Trump’s clear admiration for a hate group responsible for inciting people into acts of violence against their fellow UK citizens is none of our business.
Perhaps she thinks if she stays quiet about the issue, it will go away.
Perhaps we should make sure she is mistaken. Agreed?
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This odious man is openly inciting racial and religious hatred. He is an international pariah.