Donald Trump clarifies 'last night in Sweden' comment
US President Donald Trump's comment suggesting that a "security concern incident" has occurred Friday night in Sweden has caused confusion to the Swedish government and its citizens. The president said the comment during his speech in "Make America Great Again" rally at the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Florida, on Saturday.
“We've got to keep our country safe. When you look at what’s happening in Germany, when you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden," Trump said. He referred to the incidents in Germany and Sweden as he discussed his order on banning refugees and people from seven Muslim countries from entering the US. Trump's mention of "last night in Sweden" has caused confusion to many, who asked if there was any incident that happened in Sweden the night before the rally.
Trump did not elaborate what he was referring to, which led to people questioning the so-called event on social media. Former Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt also questioned Trump's statement. "Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound," Bildt tweeted.
"We are trying to get clarity," Reuters reported Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson as saying. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried to clarify the president’s statement on Sunday, saying the president did not mean to suggest that a particular attack had happened the night before, but he was talking about crime in general in Sweden.
On the other hand, Trump took on Twitter to explain his statement during the rally. He wrote, "My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants and Sweden." Trump referred to a Tucker Carlson segment that appeared on Fox News Friday. During the segment, Carlson interviewed right-wing filmmaker Ami Horowitz, who had recently made a documentary about Sweden's refugee policy.
The Embassy of Sweden in the US also expressed their thoughts about the immigration and integration policies as it retweeted the post of Trump.
My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2017
We look forward to informing the US administration about Swedish immigration and integration policies. https://t.co/x5G3euOWRh
— Embassy of Sweden US (@SwedeninUSA) February 19, 2017