Trump did not refer to the terrorist attack on Muslims in New Zealand as terrorism, nor did he name the faith of those who were targeted.
In his initial response this morning following the attacks, Trump referred to “the horrible massacre in the Mosques,” and said people “senselessly died,” instead of saying they were murdered by terrorists.
In a tweet issued after speaking in the afternoon to New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who said at a morning press conference, “This can only be described as a terrorist attack,” Trump chose only to cite “horrific events,” and avoided calling out terrorism or mentioning the victims’ faith.
And Trump again studiously avoided calling the attack terrorism at the White House ceremony yesterday for his veto of the resolution that would repeal his fake emergency declaration. He called the mass murder a “horrible, horrible thing” and quickly moved on to his anti-immigrant actions.
In the official statement from the White House, press secretary Sarah Sanders called it an “attack” and called it a “vicious act of hate.”
William Barr, Trump’s Attorney General, said the attack was a “sobering reminder” of the threat of “political and religious violence,” but also avoided labeling the mass murder as terrorism and any reference to the Muslim faith of the victims.
Trump and his administration have been urged to accurately refer to the attacks.
Trump should “condemn this not only as a hate crime but as a white supremacist terrorist attack,” said Nihad Awad, co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) at a press conference.
“We hold [Trump] responsible for this growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the country and in Europe,” Awad also said.
In a Fox News appearance, White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp claimed Trump had “made it very clear this is an act of terror.”
But he hasn’t.
Trump is an anti-Muslim bigot who has repeatedly demonized Muslim believers. He called for a ban on Muslim travel to America and has tried to implement that ban from the presidency.
When Muslims are the victim of an act of terror, Trump won’t speak for them. Trump refuses to stand up for those suffering the most as his rhetoric feeds the hate that these terrorist killers use as motivation for their crimes, and
Published with permission of The American Independent.
