After coming under fire for retweeting three disturbing, unverified anti-Muslim videos from the far-right UK political party Britain First yesterday (Nov. 29), lawmakers around the world roundly criticized the US president for not only stoking cultural and religious tensions, but for also promoting fake news.
Another day, another Donald Trump tweet. Only this time, his latest speaks more to his unshakeable power than he probably intended.
In Britain, prime minister Theresa May’s spokesperson said in a statement that it was “wrong for the president to have done this.” Foreign secretary Boris Johnson responded in a tweet that “Britain First is a divisive, hateful group whose views are not in line with our values. UK has a proud history as an open, tolerant society hate speech has no place here.”
Though the Netherlands embassy in the US debunked the authenticity of one of the videos Trump retweeted-which supposedly showed a “Muslim migrant” beating up a teenage holding a crutch-his administration said it doesn’t matter if the videos are fake because the “threat is real.”
Not only that, but Trump has actually doubled down-hitting back at the UK prime minister in a tweet:
.@Theresa_May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2017
His response only underscores the fact it doesn’t matter what he says or does. The UK government confirmed yesterday that its invitation for Trump’s planned state visit, likely in early 2018, stands despite the fallout over the retweets.
He is a sitting president with 17 cases of alleged sexual misconduct against him. He’s repeatedly been criticized for anti-Muslim tweets and policies, including the travel ban. He’s revived the strength and power of the far-right, both around Charlottesville and now rejuvenating attention on Britain First. He’s brought the world closer to a nuclear war with North Korea. And his list of offenses runs much longer.
All of which only supports the idea that no matter what Trump does, he is seemingly untouchable.
