The United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States said Thursday that he raised concerns with the White House over President Trump’s sharing of videos purporting to show violence committed by Muslims.
“British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which seek to divide communities & erode decency, tolerance & respect,” Kim Darroch wrote on Twitter.
“British Muslims are peaceful and law abiding citizens. And I raised these concerns with the White House yesterday.”
{mosads}Trump on Wednesday retweeted videos that were originally shared by Jayda Fransen, a leader of the far-right group Britain First.
Trump’s sharing of the videos sparked widespread controversy both in the U.K. and U.S. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned Trump’s action, but said May’s office would not revoke an invitation to Trump to visit the U.K.
Trump fired back at May on Twitter Wednesday evening, urging the prime minister to focus on terrorism rather than on him.
“.@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!” Trump said.
The White House defended Trump’s sharing of the videos on Wednesday, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling reporters that “the threat is real,” regardless of whether or not the videos are.