President Donald Trump's reference to "what's happening Last night in Sweden" during a Saturday rally in Florida raised questions in Sweden. Excerpts from a video with a bad image of Sweden and its alleged problems with migrants were broadcast on Fox News on February 17. The next day, Donald Trump presented the country as a hotbed of violence due to immigration.
"Look at what is happening in Germany, look at what happened last night in Sweden, who would have believed it, Sweden, they have welcomed a lot of refugees, and now they have problems," he said in front of his supporters in the city of Melbourne, Florida.
My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2017
False statistics
The police statements are said to have been altered. The bulk of the video is based on the testimony of two Swedish policemen who said today that their quotes were largely changed and out of context by U.S. director Ami Horowitz, in order to give a distorted picture of Sweden.
According to the police, the director questioned them about the increase in the crime rate in certain areas and the increased access to weapons. "The interview was on a completely different subject than what Fox News and Horowitz are talking about," continues Anders Goranzon.
"It had to be a crime in high-risk areas. Areas with a high crime rate. No migration or immigration."
Everyone covering my @TuckerCarlson interview attacking pres is missing point.Swed IS under assault b/c of policieshttps://t.co/qH1Q2b1zIF
— Ami (@AmiHorowitz) February 19, 2017
The 10-minute report by Ami Horowitz, Stockholm Syndrome, however, was almost exclusively angled at the supposed problems the Scandinavian country faces after accepting many migrants and refugees in recent years.
It states that the increase in the Muslim population is causing problems in Sweden.
A false image of Sweden
In his interview with Tucker Carlson, Ami Horowitz also said that the Swedish government "went out of their way to try to hide some of these problems." In an e-mail sent on Monday to TT, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom categorically denied the allegation.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its embassies are working non-stop to show a precise and accurate picture of Sweden. Unfortunately, we find that cases of disclosure of false information tend to increase," she writes.
