Trump apologises for retweeting British far-right group

LONDON: US President Donald Trump made a rare apology yesterday over his decision to retweet anti-Muslim videos posted by a British far-right group, a move which strained tensions with London, reports AFP.

“If you’re telling me they’re horrible racist people, I would certainly apologise if you’d like me to do that,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain, referring to the group Britain First.

Trump sparked outrage in Britain in November with the retweet and drew a public rebuke from Prime Minister Theresa May, to which he replied angrily, souring trans-Atlantic ties.

However, the two leaders met in Davos on Thursday where they agreed to press ahead with Trump’s long-planned visit to Britain later this year, and the president was keen to downplay talk of a rift. “The real me is someone who loves Britain, loves the UK, I love Scotland; very special people and a very special place,” he said. “I don’t want to cause any difficulty for your country.”

Trump retweeted, in quick succession, three videos characterised as showing Islamist violence, at least one of which was found to be misleading.

They were posted by Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First who was in 2016 convicted of religiously aggravated harassment of a Muslim woman.

In the interview, presenter Piers Morgan said the president caused “huge anxiety and anger in my country, because Britain First is basically a bunch of racists, fascists”.

“Of course I didn’t know that,” Trump responded in excerpts of the interview filmed on Thursday and aired on Friday.

He said: “I know nothing about them, I know nothing about them today, other than I read a little bit... Certainly I wasn’t endorsing anybody.”

“I don’t want to be involved with people (like that),” he said, adding: “I am the least racist person that anybody is going to meet.”

 

Trump apologises for retweeting British far-right group

LONDON: US President Donald Trump made a rare apology yesterday over his decision to retweet anti-Muslim videos posted by a British far-right group, a move which strained tensions with London, reports AFP. If youre telling me theyre horrible racist people, I would certainly apologise if youd like me to do that, he told ITVs Good Morning Britain, referring to the group Britain First. Trump sparked outrage in Britain in November with the retweet and drew a public rebuke from Prime Minister Theresa May, to which he replied angrily, souring trans-Atlantic ties. However, the two leaders met in Davos on Thursday where they agreed to press ahead with Trumps long-planned visit to Britain later this year, and the president was keen to downplay talk of a rift. The real me is someone who loves Britain, loves the UK, I love Scotland; very special people and a very special place, he said. I dont want to cause any difficulty for your country. Trump retweeted, in quick succession, three videos characterised as showing Islamist violence, at least one of which was found to be misleading. They were posted by Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First who was in 2016 convicted of religiously aggravated harassment of a Muslim woman. In the interview, presenter Piers Morgan said the president caused huge anxiety and anger in my country, because Britain First is basically a bunch of racists, fascists. Of course I didnt know that, Trump responded in excerpts of the interview filmed on Thursday and aired on Friday. He said: I know nothing about them, I know nothing about them today, other than I read a little bit... Certainly I wasnt endorsing anybody. I dont want to be involved with people (like that), he said, adding: I am the least racist person that anybody is going to meet.