Trump 'not referring to specific incident', White House says, after 'last night in Sweden' confusion
Updated
A day after falsely suggesting there was an immigration-related security incident in Sweden, President Donald Trump has said his comment was based on a television report he had seen.
Key points:
- Donald Trump says Sweden is "having problems like they never thought possible"
- Swedish Foreign Ministry says they are "trying to get clarity"
- Mr Trump says his comments relate to Fox News report about rising crime and migrants
Mr Trump was in Florida for his first political rally as President when, while speaking on the need to keep the United States safe and defending his travel ban, he said Sweden was having serious problems with immigrants.
"You look at what's happening in Germany," he said.
"You look at what's happening last night in Sweden.
"Sweden. Who would believe this? Sweden. They took in large numbers. They're having problems like they never thought possible."
Mr Trump did not elaborate on the Swedish reference at the time, leaving many Swedes baffled over the non-existent incident and their embassy in Washington "trying to get clarity".
But White House principal deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders said Mr Trump was referring to "rising crime and recent incidents in general, and not referring to a specific incident".
"I think he was referring to a report he had seen the previous night that spoke specifically to that topic," she said.
After she spoke, Mr Trump tweeted to confirm he was referring to a Fox News segment in which journalist Ami Horowitz, who had visited Sweden, claimed a link between rising crime and refugee admissions.
But official statistics show Sweden's crime rate has fallen since 2005, even as it has taken in hundreds of thousands of immigrants from war-torn countries like Syria and Iraq.
Sweden's embassy in the US repeated Mr Trump's tweet about having seen the Fox report, and added: "We look forward to informing the US administration about Swedish immigration and integration policies".
'What has he been smoking?'
Swedes were left scratching their heads and ridiculing Mr Trump's remark, prompting many to take to social media to discuss "last night in Sweden".
Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Catarina Axelsson said the Government was not aware of any "terror-linked major incidents".
Sweden's security police said it had no reason to change the terror threat level.
"Nothing has occurred which would cause us to raise that level," agency spokesman Karl Melin said.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom appeared to respond to the statement by posting on Twitter an excerpt of a recent speech in which she said democracy and diplomacy "require us to respect science, facts and the media".
Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt tweeted:
Aftonbladet newspaper listed in English some events that had happened Friday in Sweden, including a man being treated for severe burns, an avalanche warning and police chasing a drunken driver.
It even included a light-hearted story of a bull moose enamoured with a wooden moose garden ornament.
One Twitter user posted a mock Ikea instruction manual on how to build a "Border Wall", saying the pieces had sold out.
Sweden, which has a long reputation for welcoming refugees and migrants, had a record 163,000 asylum applications in 2015 and it has since cut back on the number it annually accepts.
Its most recent attack was in the capital, Stockholm, in December 2010, when an Iraqi-born Swede detonated two devices, including one that killed him but no one else.
AP/Reuters
Topics: terrorism, government-and-politics, donald-trump, world-politics, immigration, us-elections, sweden, united-states
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