On September 15, 2017, a bomb went off on a subway in London. Fortunately, the bomb only partially exploded, and no deaths were reported. Thirty people were injured from the bomb, but none of the injuries were serious.
Authorities deemed the attack an act of terror, and ISIS went on to claim responsibility for the bomb. By the following week, British officials had arrested three possible suspects in the case.
While the attack did not result in any fatalities, it could have been much worse. And since Britain is a U.S. ally, you would expect words of support from President Donald Trump. Naturally, Trump delivered his message in the form of several tweets.
This tweet was Donald Trump's initial response to the London subway attack. Instead of offering his best wishes to those who were injured, or sending some other message of solidarity, Trump used the opportunity to criticize Scotland Yard (London's police force). It's probably not the ideal way to send support to an ally.
Trump also attempted to insult the perpetrators by calling them "loser terrorists." And then he suggested cutting of the internet. However, it's unclear if he means shutting down the entire internet, or somehow cutting of the internet only for ISIS and other terrorists.
Trump next proposed toughening up his earlier U.S. travel ban. Trump's initial ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries has had its ups and downs in courts, and prompted Hawaii to sue, claiming the ban is unconstitutional.
Trump's next tweet appeared to be an attempt to build himself up with a comparison to Barack Obama. All in all, the tweets were an unusual response to a terrorist attack in London. And British officials weren't entirely thrilled about it.
The main issue Britain had with Trump's tweet was that he was speculating about an open police case. First Secretary of State Damian Green called Trump's tweets "unhelpful." He added that, "I would urge anyone from the president of the United States on downwards not to tweet" about a terror investigation that is still open.
Green also mentioned that cooperation between Britain and the U.S is still necessary. Intelligence agencies of both countries need to work together to help prevent terrorist attacks.
With Trump's quick reaction to the London attack, it was hard not to compare it to his reaction to white supremacists marching in Charlottesville. With regards to the white supremacists, Trump had said he needed all the facts before making a statement. But that was not the case when it came to tweeting about a terrorist act in another country.
Another Twitter user was confused by Trump's call for an internet shutdown. No more internet means no more Twitter for Trump. Perhaps the president didn't think this one all the way through.
Other Twitter users latched onto one detail in particular. And that's Trump's constant need to compare himself to Barack Obama. Why does he keep doing that?
Obama was never one to try to convince people that he was doing a better job than George W. Bush. And Bush never spent a night's worth of energy explaining all the ways he thought he was better than Bill Clinton. This behavior is strictly Trump.
Making frequent criticisms of Obama at least made sense as a thing to do when Obama was still president. But why still do that now? It's as if he's afraid Obama will come back for a third term.
Trumps tweets appeared to be more of an attempt to promote himself then they were an attempt to show empathy to the people of London. Many people were surprised by the tweets, but at this point they really should not be unexpected at all.