Matt Cardy/ZUMA
With pertinent details still unfolding, President Donald Trump took to Twitter Thursday afternoon to condemn a terrorist attack in Barcelona, where a white van plowed through the popular tourist street of Las Ramblas, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 50 people.
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
The president’s response to the Barcelona attack was far swifter than his delayed response to the white supremacist clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday and his initial failure to flatly denounce white nationalists. Instead, Trump blamed “many sides” for the violence.
Amid intense criticism over his equivocal remarks, Trump was forced to issue a stronger statement rejecting hate groups two days after the “Unite the Right” rally, where Heather Heyer was killed by a suspected white supremacist who drove through a crowd of counter-protesters.
By Tuesday, however, the president returned to his assertion that there were multiple sides to the violence, all but defending some white nationalists as “very fine people.” He also lashed out at reporters when asked why he did condemn white supremacists from the start, claiming he didn’t have all the “facts” to do so on Saturday.
“I wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what I said was correct,” he said. “Unlike the media, before I make a statement, I like to know the facts.”
Trump later followed up his condemnation Thursday with a second tweet that perhaps explains why the president was so quick to react to Barcelona and not Charlottesville. It should be noted that the story he cites below is fake.
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
