At 4:30 p.m. local time, a van struck a group of pedestrians in Barcelona, Spain. There were 13 fatalities and over 50 injuries. This was President Donald Trump’s response:
The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
This was far swifter and stronger than his response to the violence in Charlottesville on Saturday. He waited to respond, and when he did he blamed all sides for the violence perpetrated by the white nationalist “alt-right” members.
Amid intense criticism, Trump walked back those remarks when he issued a statement denouncing hate groups. He said:
“Racism is evil, and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups.”
By Tuesday, he was back to his old ways, saying that some white nationalists were “good people.” He said there were “fine people” on both sides.
President Trump followed up his response to Barcelona with another tweet that, perhaps, explains the difference in response.
Study what General Pershing of the United States did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
This story has been disproven by historians.
The story he’s referring to is one he told during the campaign of a General who executed Muslim terrorists in the early 1900s with bullets dipped in pig’s blood. Trump would say:
“He caught 50 terrorists who did tremendous damage…and he took the 50 terrorists and he took 50 men and dipped 50 bullets in pig’s blood. You heard about that? He took 50 bullets and dipped them in pig’s blood [which is considered haram]. And he has his men load up their rifles and he lined up the 50 people and they shot 49 of those people. And the 50th person, he said, you go back to your people and you tell them what happened. And for 25 years there wasn’t a problem.”
This follow-up tweet also implies that the incident was perpetrated by ISIS, which had not been proven yet. ISIS has claimed responsibility since. Trump really screwed up with these.
Here is a news video about the Barcelona attack:
Feautured image via Twitter.
