"I think he knew what the issues are, and that is that we have a real threat of extreme violence and terrorism, not just in this country but across the globe, particularly in Europe," Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of President Donald Trump. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo White House: Trump didn't know anti-Muslim videos came from U.K. fringe group

President Donald Trump didn't know that anti-Muslim videos he shared on social media this week were connected to a far-right political group in the United Kingdom, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday.

Trump garnered criticism from British officials when he retweeted videos that appeared to portray Muslims committing acts of violence and were initially posted by a far-right, ultranationalist U.K. figure.


Pressed on whether Trump realized that Jayda Fransen, who posted the videos, was the deputy leader of the Britain First group, Sanders said he did not.

“No, I don’t believe so," Sanders said during the White House press briefing on Thursday. "But I think he knew what the issues are, and that is that we have a real threat of extreme violence and terrorism, not just in this country but across the globe, particularly in Europe."

Sanders said that by sharing the videos, Trump served to "elevate the conversation" around terrorism.

A spokesperson for the British prime minister on Wednesday blasted the posts by Trump, criticizing him for amplifying the voice of a group that spreads "hate-filled narratives to peddle lies and stoke tensions."

Prime Minister Theresa May addressed the controversy during a diplomatic trip to Jordan on Thursday, saying that it was "very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do."

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Among the videos shared by Fransen was one depicting a young man beating another, accompanied by the label “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches." The Netherlands' Embassy in Washington later said the man portrayed committing violent acts in the clip was not a migrant but was born and raised in the Netherlands.

