London surgeon invites Trump to hospital to discuss ‘violence reduction’ after knife crime comments

A top London trauma surgeon said Saturday he would be “happy to invite” President Trump to visit his hospital after Trump criticized knife crime in the city during a speech at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention.

Martin Griffiths, a lead trauma surgeon at the Royal London Hospital, tweeted a gif suggesting that Trump was missing the point about knife crime in London with his comments.

“Happy to invite Mr Trump to my (prestigious) hospital to meet with our mayor and police commissioner to discuss our successes in violence reduction in London,” he wrote.

Happy to invite Mr Trump to my (prestigious) hospital to meet with our mayor and police commissioner to discuss our successes in violence reduction in London @SadiqKhan @metpoliceuk @NHSBartsHealth #WindrushAwards pic.twitter.com/G4vYqTkfbL

— Martin P Griffiths (@martinpgriff) May 5, 2018

In a speech at the NRA convention in Dallas on Friday, Trump said he read a story that in London, “which has unbelievably tough gun laws, a once very prestigious hospital right in the middle is like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds.”

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He made the comments while speaking in support of guns, and claimed that there is “blood all over the floors” of the hospital.

“They say it’s as bad as a military war zone hospital,” Trump said. “Knives, knives, knives.”

While it’s unclear what source Trump was discussing, the BBC noted that Griffiths told BBC Radio 4 last month that some people have compared his hospital to an Afghan war zone. His comments in the interview were later the focus of a Daily Mail article.

Karim Brohi, the director of London’s major trauma system, also denounced Trump’s comments, and issued a statement touting the Royal London Hospital’s success in reducing the share of young knife attack patients who return with further attack wounds.

“There is more we can all do to combat this violence, but to suggest guns are part of the solution is ridiculous,” Brohi said. “Gunshot wounds are at least twice as lethal as knife injuries and more difficult to repair. We are proud of our world-leading service and to serve the people of London.”

Trump is slated to visit the United Kingdom in July for a working visit with Prime Minister Theresa May.