President Trump is still ignoring Quebec attack committed by a white supremacist

Trump did take to Twitter when a Muslim was being the instigator, but was silent when Muslims were targeted

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published February 3, 2017 3:35PM (EST)

 (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Trump sent out a tweet on Friday condemning a machete attack committed by a Muslim in Paris — but has not expressed outrage about an attack perpetrated by a white supremacist in Quebec.

Although Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer declared at the time that the Quebec City mosque shooting was "a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant and why the president is taking steps to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to our nation’s safety and security," the administration notably did not mention that the attack was motivated by hatred of Muslims. What's more, Trump himself never expressed public condolences to the Muslim community, instead only privately reaching out to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

On Friday, Twitter users were quick to point out that Trump blasted non-fatal attacks committed by Muslims, but was silent when Muslims were killed.

Earlier this week, Trump ordered a government program called Countering Violent Extremism to focus only on radical Islamic movements, even though in the past it has also focused heavily on extreme right-wing and white supremacist activities.


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a staff writer at Salon. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012 and was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022.

MORE FROM Matthew Rozsa


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Donald Trump Islamophobia Paris Terrorist Attack Quebec Terrorist Attack