Where is President Trump’s response to the terrorist attack in London? Not the June 3 attack, when three Muslim men in a van drove over several pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing many more in a market. Eight were killed and nearly 50 injured, and it prompted a series of tweets from Trump that touted his Muslim travel ban and criticized London’s Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan.
But Trump has not yet responded or even commented on the possibly related attack in the early hours of Monday, June 19. An apparent lone wolf terrorist from Wales drove a car into several people as they left the mosque in London’s Finsbury Park neighborhood, with at least 1 dead and 10 or more wounded.
President Trump has not made any kind of public statement on the attack. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, simply told reporters Monday that the president has been “made aware” of the incident and “is receiving consistent updates from the staff.” Spicer also expressed that “thoughts and prayers” extend to the victims and their families.
Several other top Trump administration officials expressed their sympathy for the victims of the attack. “Briefed on the hateful and senseless violence in London and Paris,” Vice President Mike Pence tweeted on Monday afternoon, also referencing a Monday terrorist attack in France in which only the driver of a weaponized truck died. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted & their loved ones.”
“Sending love and prayers to the victims in #FinsburyPark London,” tweeted Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and a White House aide. “We must stand united against hatred and extremism in all it’s [sic] ugly forms.”
In a press release, the Department of Homeland Security said the United States “stand with our European allies in fighting back all forms of terrorism, and we will continue to work together to keep our communities safe against violent extremists who target any of our people.”
As Adrian Carasquillo of BuzzFeed points out, Trump himself is often slow to address terrorist attacks with Muslim targets in Western countries, particularly relative to attacks carried out by Muslim terrorists.
“Condolences” For Warmbier, But Any Action Toward North Korea?
President Trump offered “deepest condolences” to the family of a college student who died shortly after returning home from North Korea, where he had been imprisoned for supposedly removing a poster from a wall.
Otto Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia, was arrested and convicted by the North Korean regime in March 2016 for “hostile acts.” Warmbier was allowed to return to the United States last week after falling into a coma, 18 months after his imprisonment. Six days later, the Warmbier family announced he had died.
“Melania and I offer our deepest condolences to the family of Otto Warmbier on his untimely passing. There is nothing more tragic for a parent than to lose a child in the prime of life. Our thoughts and prayers are with Otto’s family and friends, and all who loved him,” said the president in a prepared statement. “Otto’s fate deepens my Administration’s determination to prevent such tragedies from befalling innocent people at the hands of regimes that do not respect the rule of law or basic human decency. The United States once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim.”
Shortly before the White House released the statement, Trump said before a group of Silicon Valley business leaders of Warmbier: “”At least he got home to his parents” and that North Korea is a “brutal regime” and “we’ll be able to handle it.”
The White House has not replied on whether or not the United States will take more action against the Kim regime. Lawmakers in Washington, meanwhile, called for a response to the death of Warmbier. Senator John McCain of Arizona said the United States “cannot and should not tolerate the murder of its citizens by hostile powers,” while Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said North Korea “must be held accountable.”
Kushner and Trump Kick Off “Technology Week”
President Trump welcomed top executives from Silicon Valley to the White House on Monday for a brainstorming session to kick off the administration’s “Technology Week.”
The meeting comes as the White House focuses on how to upgrade and streamline the byzantine thicket of databases and software that constitutes the executive branch’s online presence — some of which are over 50 years old
In his opening remarks, Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law to the president, said that the government would push to consolidate more than 6,000 federal data centers, many of which are redundant and out-of-date. Topics of discussion included the benefits of the government purchasing off-the-shelf commercial software products and strategies for deploying data across all agencies at once.
“We created the White House Office of American Innovation in order to bring business sensibility to a government that for too long has relied on past practices as automatic justification for their continuation,” Kushner said. He added, “the goal is simple here: to improve the day-to-day lives of average citizens.”
The Office of American Innovation, which Kushner heads, has replaced the ill-fated Strategic Initiatives Group, a joint effort between Kushner and one of his West Wing rivals, Steve Bannon. The SIG was unceremoniously abandoned earlier this year.
Trump Touts R’s on Special Election Day in Georgia and South Carolina
Tuesday’s special House elections in Georgia and South Carolina were on the president’s mind Monday. He tweeted several times urging voters to support Republicans in the two districts formerly held by his Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price (of Georgia) and director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney (of South Carolina).
“Ralph Norman, who is running for Congress in SC’s 5th District, will be a fantastic help to me in cutting taxes, and…getting great border security and healthcare. #VoteRalphNorman tomorrow!” Trump tweeted. “Karen Handel’s opponent in #GA06 can’t even vote in the district he wants to represent….because he doesn’t even live there! He wants to raise taxes and kill healthcare. On Tuesday, #VoteKarenHandel.”
Later on Monday, he added: “Big day tomorrow in Georgia and South Carolina. ObamaCare is dead. Dems want to raise taxes big! They can only obstruct, no ideas. Vote ‘R’”
In the Georgia district, Republican Karen Handel is running neck-and-neck with Democrat Jon Ossoff in a run-off from April’s special election. The race has become the most expensive House race in history, with both sides and their supporting PACs pouring in nearly $50 million. The final Real Clear Politics poll average shows the race in a dead heat, with Handel holding just a 0.2-point lead.
Ralph Norman, the Republican running to succeed Mulvaney in South Carolina, is not expected to have a close race.
