U.S. President Donald Trump continues to face backlash for his social media silence on the Quebec City mosque shooting.
Despite his reputation for being outspoken about terrorism, Trump has yet to tweet about the mosque attack that left six dead and multiple others wounded – though the president did call Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to offer condolences.
Despite that, when the president took to Twitter Friday morning to denounce a near-attack on the world famous Louvre Museum in Paris, several people fired back at Trump, alleging he has not spoken publicly about the Quebec attack because the victims were Muslim.
READ MORE: Second funeral for mosque victims to be held in Quebec City Friday
“A new radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked in Louvre Museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down. France on edge again,” Trump tweeted from his personal Twitter account.
Trump’s tweet was soon inundated with replies reading, “a right-wing extremist attacked #QuebecCity but you still haven’t commented,” and, “Trump-supporting white nationalist kills 6 at Quebec mosque: no Trump response. Guy with a knife is apprehended in Paris: Trump tweets.”
“Are Muslim lives any less precious,” asked another user.
READ MORE: Thousands attend Montreal funeral for 3 of Quebec City mosque shooting victims
Allegations that President Trump has remained completely silent on the incident aren’t true. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the president offered his condolences and support to Justin Trudeau in a phone call Monday; however, details of what was said during the call have not been released.
The White House has also commented on the attack. On Monday, press secretary Sean Spicer alluded to the Quebec City mosque shooting while discussing reasons behind Trump’s controversial travel ban, which temporarily prevents travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
READ MORE: Trump calls it a travel ban, White House says it’s not a ban. So what is Trump’s immigration order?
“It’s a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant and why the president is taking steps to be proactive and not reactive on issues of national security,” he said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
WATCH: White House Press Secretary tells reporters President Trump spoke to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the shooting at a Quebec mosque
Trump has sent 28 tweets from his personal account since the attack. His presidential account @POTUS has tweeted 14 times in the days following. None of those offer a statement on the mosque shooting.
Some of those tweets have included references to terrorism, including one sent the day after the mosque shooting referencing controversy over his executive order on immigration.
“There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world,” he tweeted on Jan. 30.
Several users also pointed out his social media silence on Quebec in replies to the tweet.
The deadly shooting, which Trudeau has called a terrorist attack, happened at the height of protest over Trump’s so-called travel ban, which some alleged was a ban on Muslims.
The executive order does not specifically say Muslims can’t visit the U.S., but it does create a temporary travel ban for those with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump’s order also bans refugees from Syria indefinitely, pending a review of the application process.
The order also bars the entry of any refugee awaiting resettlement in the U.S. and puts a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the U.S.
Comments