US president Donald Trump trolled on Twitter for remarks on Sweden

world

Updated: Feb 20, 2017 11:09 IST

US President Donald Trump was trolled on Twitter for his remarks on Saturday that something terrible had happened in Sweden last night (Friday).

While he was talking about terror attacks across Europe, Trump told his supporters at a Florida rally: “We have got to keep our country safe. You look at what’s happening in Germany. You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible. You look at what’s happening in Brussels. You look at what’s happening all over the world. Take a look at Nice. Take a look at Paris.”

This appeared to confuse the Swedish government, which asked the US state department to explain what the new president meant. “We are trying to get clarity,” Swedish foreign ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson said.

It also baffled the Sweden residents and others on Twitter as nothing unusual had happened in the country. So much so that even former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt took to social media to express his amusement.

Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound. https://t.co/XWgw8Fz7tj — Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) February 19, 2017

Soon after Trump’s statement, Twitter was flooded with hashtags ridiculing Trump for his remarks.

Hasgtags like LastNightInSweden and PrayForSweden emerged on Twitter that made jokes about what Trump might had been referring to.

#swedenincident Main suspect in Bowling green massacre captured by Swedish police #lastnightinsweden , thanks to tip from @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/O9XAPElcdk — Madra David (@madradavid) 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

Trump in a tweet on Sunday clarified his remarks.

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

The tweet confirmed suspicions that the President’s remarks stemmed from Tucker Carlson’s show on FoxNews on Friday night in which the host interviewed Ami Horowitz, a filmmaker who tried to tie Sweden’s taking in of asylum seekers to increased violent crimes in the country.

Fox News is a US cable news channel that has sometimes been cited favourably by Trump.

Trump watched Fox report on immigration to Sweden & recalled it later as major terror attack there. Paranoid cognitive dissonance. — Матвій Савицький (@4free_Ukraine) February 19, 2017

After the terrible events #lastnightinSweden , IKEA have sold out of this: pic.twitter.com/Bs1XI7ffKG — Jeanna Skinner (@JeannaLStars) February 19, 2017

LAST Night In Sweden??????????????????@realdonaldtrump Like last week on Bowling Green??? You are a disgrace. pic.twitter.com/9ucn9YYBUV — Gerilynn (@gerryljaworski) February 19, 2017

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders earlier on Sunday said the President was “talking about rising crime and recent incidents in general and not referring to a specific incident”.

She reiterated that Trump did not mean to say “last night” but was referring to the rise in crime in Sweden.