Over the last 24 hours, President Donald Trump has come under fire for falsely citing a terrorist attack in Sweden that never actually happened. After Trump made his remarks, backlash quickly followed, especially from one of his most vocal critics; filmmaker Michael Moore.
Moore on Trump
On Saturday night in Melbourne, Florida, Donald Trump held a re-election rally after just a month into his first term in office. With over 9,000 screaming supporters, the billionaire real estate mogul covered many topics, including bragging about his alleged accomplishments, while blasting the mainstream media as "fake news." While addressing those in attendance, the former host of "The Apprentice" cited an incident that he said took place the previous night in Sweden, which he related to the increase in immigration and refugees into Europe.
"Who would believe this? Sweden!," Trump said, while adding, "They are having problems like they never thought possible." Fact-checkers quickly debunked his claim, which led to Michael Moore taking to his Twitter account on February 19 to voice his grievances.
Every time Trump speaks the networks and papers are OBLIGATED to have an immediate segment called "The Orwell File" or "The Big Lie". https://t.co/NZlsS4gNlh
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) February 19, 2017
"Every time Trump speaks the networks and papers are OBLIGATED to have an immediate segment called 'The Orwell File' or 'The Big Lie,'" Michael Moore wrote on Twitter Sunday night. Not stopping there, the filmmaker went on to call out supporters of the president for their ignorance, and tendency to believe anything Trump says regardless of its validity.
"Part of Trump's genius w/ this is half his followers (w)ill say 'So he named the wrong country--but his point is correct. Terrorism everywhere!'" Moore pointed out in a follow-up tweet.
Part of Trump's genius w/ this is half his followers'll say "So he named the wrong country--but his point is correct. Terrorism everywhere!" https://t.co/NZlsS4gNlh
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) February 19, 2017
In his third and final social media message on the matter, Michael Moore continued to rip into the commander in chief.
"The other half will go to their graves always believing Sweden had their own 9/11 last Friday night - and nothing will change their minds," he concluded.
The other half will go to their graves always believing Sweden had their own 9/11 last Friday night - and nothing will change their minds. https://t.co/NZlsS4gNlh
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) February 19, 2017
Trump clarifies
After a day of ridicule from the press and his political opponents, Donald Trump was forced to walk back his remarks, taking to social media to deflect blame onto Fox News.
In his Twitter message on the issue in question, the president claimed his remark was in "reference to a story that was broadcast on Fox News concerning immigrants & Sweden." The Fox News segment was broadcast on Friday night, where host Tucker Carlson elaborated on immigration issues in Europe, but made no mention of a terrorist attack.
