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Donald Trump attacks Theresa May over her criticism of his far-right retweets

In rare clash between allies, US president tells May to focus on terrorism rather than on him – but sends the tweet to the wrong person



Donald Trump has publicly rebuked Theresa May over her criticism of anti-Muslim propaganda, opening an extraordinary diplomatic spat between the transatlantic allies.
“Theresa@theresamay, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom,” the US president tweeted on Wednesday evening. “We are doing just fine!”
Trump’s message came in response to criticism from the British prime minister’s spokesman over the president’s retweeting of incendiary videos posted by the deputy leader of a British far-right group.
However, the “@theresamay” Twitter handle that Trump targeted does not belong to Theresa May, the British prime minister, but a woman called Theresa Scrivener. Minutes later Trump deleted and reposted the tweet, this time with the correct handle: @Theresa_May.

The angry tirade, crowning one of the most wayward days yet of Trump’s presidency, earned a swift putdown from the US senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who met May at Downing Street last week to discuss terrorism threats to both countries. He tweeted: “PM @theresa_may is one of the great world leaders, I have incredible love and respect for her and for the way she leads the United Kingdom, especially in the face of turbulence.”
May is currently on a tour of the Middle East and has not responded yet to the diplomatic incident. But Justine Greening, the education secretary, said the row should not undermine the UK’s long and close relationship with the US.
Asked if she was shocked that Trump was directly attacking a close ally, Greening told the BBC’s Today programme: “The UK and US have been longstanding allies and our relationship with America is a hugely important one, and I don’t think we should allow this tweet to undermine that in any way... (our relationship) will succeed long after presidents come and go and I don’t agree with the tweet President Trump has made but I also don’t believe it should distract from the agenda we have domestically or detract from the close relationship the UK has had for many many years and will go on to have with the American people.”
However, Sajid Javid, the local government secretary, who is Muslim, took a much harder line. He posted on Twitter: “So POTUS has endorsed the views of a vile, hate-filled racist organisation that hates me and people like me. He is wrong and I refuse to let it go and say nothing.”



The feud marks a new, unexpected twist in the “special relationship” that has benefited from personal chemistry between leaders such as Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, and Tony Blair and Bill Clinton.
There had been hopes that May and Trump – whose mother was British – would achieve a similar rapport. She was the first foreign leader to visit after he took office: they were photographed holding hands at the White House and she invited him on a state visit to the UK. But that has yet to take place after a series of controversies and warnings that protesters will take to the streets to show he is not welcome.
Continue Reading: Donald Trump attacks Theresa May over her criticism of his far-right retweets

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