Trump is now slamming Sweden's prime minister for not meddling in the A$AP Rocky case


After a Swedish prosecutor charged American rapper A$AP Rocky with assault on Thursday, President Trump waited a few hours before slamming Sweden and its prime minister on Twitter. Lots of celebrities are pushing for A$AP Rocky's release, but Trump seemed most upset that Sweden insists on maintaining an independent judiciary.
"Very disappointed in Prime Minister Stefan Löfven for being unable to act," Trump tweeted Thursday evening. "Sweden has let our African American Community down in the United States. I watched the tapes of A$AP Rocky, and he was being followed and harassed by troublemakers. Treat Americans fairly!" The president added in a second tweet: "Give A$AP Rocky his FREEDOM. We do so much for Sweden but it doesn't seem to work the other way around."
The Stockholm prosecutor, Daniel Suneson, explained when charging A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, that he had "studied the videos made available to the inquiry" and emphasized that "I have had access to a greater amount of material than that which has previously been available on the internet."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
After Trump called Lofven on Saturday to push for his intervention in the case, Lofven's press secretary described the conversation as "friendly and respectful" but said the prime minister "made certain to emphasize the complete independence of the Swedish judicial system, prosecutors, and courts," and said the government would not and could not attempt to steer the case. On Friday, responding to Trump's tweets, another Lofven spokesman, Mikael Lindstrom, reiterated: "The government is not allowed, and will not attempt, to influence the legal proceedings, which are now ongoing."
A$AP Rocky's trial will take place between July 30 and Aug. 2.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
June 25 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons include war on a loop, the New York City mayoral race, and one almighty F-bomb
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speak
In The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?
Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia