Trump reacts to Theresa May's criticism of his far-right retweets: 'Don’t focus on me'

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump retweets anti-Muslim videos posted by far-right group President Trump has retweeted anti-muslim videos posted by the leader of a British Far-right group.

WASHINGTON – President Trump reacted to British Prime Minister Theresa May's criticism of his retweets depicting alleged physical attacks carried out by Muslims, telling the British leader on Twitter late Wednesday to "focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom."

Trump's retweets – originally posted by a leader of a far-right anti-immigration British political party – earned the president rebukes from the British and Dutch governments, Muslim groups, and some Republican lawmakers on Wednesday. Trump later tweeted a message aimed at May, telling her not to "focus on me" and that "We are doing just fine!"

.@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

Critics including May accused Trump of trying to stir up anti-Muslim sentiment by retweeting the unverified videos posted by British First deputy leader Jayda Fransen.

Fransen posted the videos with the captions: "VIDEO: Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!"; "VIDEO: Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!"; "VIDEO: Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!"

Yet White House officials said Trump was underscoring the issue of violence by Muslim migrants in Europe.

"These are real threats we have to talk about," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said, dismissing questions about the veracity of the videos after reports that one perpetrator was not a Muslim. "Whether it is a real video, the threat is real."

May's office criticized Trump for re-tweeting videos from Britain First, an organization it said seeks to "divided communities" through "hateful narratives" and lies.

"British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents – decency, tolerance and respect," said a statement from May's spokesman James Slack. "It is wrong for the president to have done this."

The Netherlands embassy in Washington, D.C., protested one of Trump's posts in particular. "Facts do matter. The perpetrator of the violent act in this video was born and raised in the Netherlands. He received and completed his sentence under Dutch law."

.@realDonaldTrump Facts do matter. The perpetrator of the violent act in this video was born and raised in the Netherlands. He received and completed his sentence under Dutch law. — Netherlands Embassy 🇺🇸 (@NLintheUSA) November 29, 2017

Trump did not provide a reason or additional commentary on the videos, though the president has previously criticized immigration policies in Europe and backed a travel ban to the United States from six Muslim-majority nations. Trump's travel ban is currently the subject of federal lawsuits from plaintiffs who say Trump is seeking to constrain immigration from Muslims, rather than terror-prone countries.

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Trump's "unconscionable and irresponsible" tweets "amount to incitement to violence against American Muslims. His actions should be condemned by all American political and religious leaders, regardless of their party or faith."

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called Trump’s tweets “particularly unhelpful" in a couple of ways.

"You don’t want to take a fringe group and elevate their content," Graham said. "I think it also is not the message we need to be sending right now where we need Muslim allies.”

Britain First is a far-right, anti-Muslim political organization that was formed in 2011.

In September, its leader Paul Golding, 35, and deputy Fransen, 31, were charged with causing religiously aggravated harassment after distributing leaflets and posting videos on social media during the gang rape trial of three Muslim men and a teenager who were later convicted of rape and imprisoned.

While there are some British news reports that Golding stepped down from the organization for family reasons, his Twitter account still describes him as the group’s leader.

Golding saluted Trump's retweets of Fransen's videos, saying in all capital letters: "DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP!"

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN'S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! OCS @JaydaBF @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/2RJhjGXd2I — Paul Golding (@GoldingBF) November 29, 2017

Last year, police won an injunction in the High Court to ban Britain First campaigners from all mosques in England and Wales for three years after they were accused of causing community tensions in Luton, a town north of London. It came after the group filmed themselves confronting worshipers and imams in a series of what the local media has called "mosque invasions."

Golding was jailed for eight weeks in December last year for breaching the ban on entering a mosque. Fransen has been found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment and fined for verbally abusing a Muslim woman in Luton.

On Wednesday, some British lawmakers and Trump critics immediately condemned what they called the president's anti-Muslim bias in reposting Fransen's videos.

David Lammy, a Labour MP in London, said Trump was not welcome in his country after posting the videos.

“Trump sharing Britain First. Let that sink in," Lammy tweeted. "The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. He is no ally or friend of ours. @realDonaldTrump you are not welcome in my country and my city.”

Trump sharing Britain First. Let that sink in. The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. He is no ally or friend of ours. @realDonaldTrump you are not welcome in my country and my city. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) November 29, 2017

Matthew Goodwin, a professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent in England, said he was surprised to see the U.S. president retweet a "basically neo-Nazi" group.

"I never thought I would see the President of the United States retweet Britain First. They are not 'nationalist.' They are basically neo-Nazis," he said.

I never thought I would see the President of the United States retweet Britain First. They are not "nationalist". They are basically neo-Nazis. — Matthew Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) November 29, 2017

Brian Klaas, author of The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy, tweeted: "Neo-Fascists in the UK celebrating Trump giving them a platform, just as neo-Nazis at the Daily Stormer celebrated Trump's comments at Charlottesville."

Neo-Fascists in the UK celebrating Trump giving them a platform, just as neo-Nazis at the Daily Stormer celebrated Trump's comments at Charlottesville. https://t.co/mNTWkgzA6I — Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) November 29, 2017

Meanwhile, Trump's video was praised by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

"Trump retweets video of crippled white kid in Europe being beaten by migrants, and white people being thrown off a roof and then beaten to death, He's condemned for showing us what the fake news media WON'T. Thank God for Trump! That's why we love him!" Duke tweeted.

Louise Haigh, a member of parliament for the opposition Labour Party, has called for Britain First to be listed as a terrorist organization and banned from standing in elections.

It remains an open question whether it was a Britain First supporter who killed British lawmaker Jo Cox on June 16, 2016, a week before the nation’s referendum to leave the European Union. The killer, Thomas Mair, 52, repeatedly shouted "Britain first” as he shot and stabbed Cox, the court in London heard during his trial.

The group has distanced itself from the murder. "We had nothing to do with it, we would not condone actions like that,” Golding said. “I hope the person who carried out this heinous crime will get what he deserves."

Onyanga-Omara reported from London. Contributing: Deirdre Shesgreen