Trump's terror tweets: The president's response to terrorism
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KTRK) -- Nineteen tweets. Three major terror attacks. One month.
In the last 30 days, President Donald Trump has shifted a lot of focus on his personal Twitter account to protecting Americans and the world from the scourge of terror.
While Hillary Clinton, the Russia investigation and "fake news" were still resonating within the last month, Trump's tweets appear to show he was laser-focused on the issue of terrorism, even before terror attacks in Manchester and London, England, and outside Cairo, Egypt.
Here's how the month unfolded on the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account:
May 9, 2017
Trump retweeted a CNN report citing Mexico as the second deadliest country in the world. In the story, Mexico was aligned with Arab nations where terrorism and suicide bombings have occurred.
May 16, 2017
Trump defended telling visiting Russian dignitaries about how the U.S. is waging its war against terrorism.
May 21, 2017
During his first overseas trip, President Trump told Arab leaders attending the Riyadh Summit it is time to oust terrorists from their countries.
May 23, 2017: Manchester Arena attack
A suicide bomber killed 23 people and injured 119 people with a shrapnel-filled homemade bomb outside a Manchester, England arena, where singer Ariana Grande had just finished a concert.
At 7:04 a.m. CST, President Trump tweeted this response:
About four hours later, the president returned to Twitter, and said:
May 26, 2017: Terror attack on Coptic Christians
Trump said he intended to make terrorism a major issue at the G7 summit.
That same day, terrorists killed at least 30 Coptic Christians and injured 26 others when they attacked a bus heading to a monastery in the Minya region, 150 miles south of Cairo.
Ten hours later, Trump returned to Twitter to issue this statement:
May 27, 2017
The day after the attack on the Coptic Christians in Egypt, Trump said terrorism would be a key subject of the G7 meetings.
May 28, 2017
After U.S. officials apparently leaked information about the Manchester Arena terror attack to American journalists, UK authorities decided to stop sharing intelligence with the U.S. Three days after that decision, President Trump addressed the issue for the first time on Twitter:
June 3, 2017: London Terror Attack
Police said three suspects rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in restaurants and pubs along nearby Borough Market. At least seven people were killed, and 48 were wounded, according to ABC News.
President Trump used the moment to renew support for a travel ban on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries and refugees from anywhere in the world:
The president also offered assistance to the U.K. in regards to the aftermath of the deadly attacks:
He also predicted that without such a travel ban, there would be dire consequences:
June 4, 2017
The next day, Trump set his sights not on terrorists, but statements made by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim elected to that post:
June 5, 2017
Trump started the week by once again calling for a U.S. travel ban, and encouraged the Department of Justice to push for a policy that is less "politically correct."
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