WASHINGTON: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, known more for his bravado than for sound policy statements, did not specifically condemn Sunday’s terrorist attack in Lahore’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal park, but said yesterday that he alone can solve the issue, reports The Dawn.
Trump, who has made headlines for spewing anti-Muslim rhetoric during his presidential campaign, tweeted about the ‘radical attack’ in Lahore targeting Christians, claiming he alone can solve the issue, without clarifying what issue he was referring to.
The Republican front-runner, however, did not specifically condemn the attack or express sorrow over the blast.
At least 72 people were killed in the suicide blast on Sunday. The attack was condemned by politicians and celebrities around the world, who took to social media to express sorrow and anger over the tragedy.
The real estate tycoon, who is funding his own campaign, has dominated the media spotlight since the start of his campaign due to his bombastic and provocative style.
Trump’s first television advertisement created a lot of controversy as it demanded a ban on Muslims entering the United States (US) while vowing to decapitate the militant Islamic State (IS) group.
The Republican front-runner had also promised to build a wall along the Mexican border from Texas to California and expel 11 million people who are in the country illegally if he wins the November US election.
Last month, Pope Francis, during his visit to Mexico, expressed disapproval for Trump’s views by saying that a person who thinks only about building walls and not building bridges, is not Christian.
Asked if American Catholics should vote for someone with Trump’s views, Francis had said: “I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt,” he said.
Trump, however, responded with a Facebook post maintaining that the pope would have wished Trump was
president if IS attacked the Vatican.
AFP from Seoul adds: South Korea and Japan offered muted reactions Monday to Donald Trump’s suggestion that, as president, he would withdraw troops from both countries and allow them to develop their own nuclear arsenal.
There are nearly 30,000 US troops permanently stationed in South Korea and 47,000 in Japan, with little appetite for nuclear weapons in either nation.
Asked to respond to Trump’s ‘America first’ policy to wean nations off US support, South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-Gyun said it would be inappropriate to comment on remarks by a US presidential candidate.
But he stressed there was no change to Seoul’s position that the South Korea-US Mutual Defence Treaty remained the bedrock of the alliance with Washington.