After she criticized him for retweeting a prejudiced account, Trump tells Theresa May to 'focus' on her own country

They've gone from awkwardly holding hands to engaging in a war of words, with President Trump, of all people, telling British Prime Minister Theresa May to mind her own business.

On Wednesday morning, Trump retweeted videos posted by a leader of the right-wing, anti-immigrant, anti-Islam group Britain First; one claimed to show a Muslim immigrant boy beating up a Dutch child (the Dutch embassy in the United States said the boy was not an immigrant, but was born and raised in the Netherlands, and was prosecuted). May's spokesman said it was "wrong for the president to have done this," adding, "British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far-right which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents: decency, tolerance, and respect."

Trump waited several hours before he responded, tweeting Wednesday night: ".@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!" It was actually his second attempt at messaging May — in his first tweet to the prime minister, Trump instead tagged @theresamay, a woman named Theresa Scrivener who has six followers.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up