US President's Son Faces Backlash After Criticizing London Mayor
UPDATE 4:02 a.m. EDT- Officials confirmed the number of people killed during the Westminster bridge terror attack were 4 that included a woman, a man, a police officer and the attacker, BBC News reported.
Original story:
Donald Trump Jr. has been facing flak for mocking and criticizing the London Mayor Sadiq Khan Wednesday, hours after the Westminster terror attack. Trump Jr. took to Twitter and slammed the city's mayor citing lines from a September 2016 report in the Independent, which quoted him saying that terror attacks were "part and parcel of living in a big city and I want to be reassured that every single agency and individual involved in protecting our city has the resources and expertise they need to respond in the event that London is attacked."
Trump Jr. tweeted quoting the headline of the Independent story "Terror attacks are part of living in big city, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan."
He tweeted his criticism barely after two hours of the reports that kept emerging after the horrific attacks. Khan's message on the newspaper took a new meaning after the terror attack. However, the lines were misinterpreted by Trump Jr.
Five people were killed after which the attacker was shot and killed outside the U.K. parliament. Almost 40 people were injured after the attacker drove a car along a pavement. He also stabbed a policeman, according to reports.
Some people did support Trump Jr. in condemning the mayor, but some defended the mayor too. Wes Streeting, a member of parliament from the Labour Party, called Trump Jr. a "disgrace," in reply to his tweet.
A correspondent for Britain's Channel 4, Ciaran Jenkins asked the president’s son on Twitter if he thought his remarks were "helpful."
Khan was the first Muslim to lead the capital of a major Western country. When elected last year, he became London's first ethnic minority mayor. British lawmakers also defended him saying that his ethnic identity should not be meddled with the attacks.
"There should not be a single thought about what his identity is," Pola Uddin, a member of the House of Lords told the Washington Post. "This is a moment of reflection for all Londoners, and should lead us to consider the fact that we largely haven't experienced such attacks before, while other cities have," he added.
Dominic Grieve, a Conservative MP, also said that the mayor should not be condemned for his earlier statements on terrorism and security.
Khan issued a statement Wednesday, in which he offered his condolences to the families of victims and paid respect to the police officer who was killed.
"I want to reassure all Londoners and all our visitors not to be alarmed — our city remains one of the safest in the world," said Khan in the statement. "Londoners will never be cowed by terrorism," he added.
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