UK's May condemns Trump for praise of lawmaker who assaulted reporter

[left-of-center2012]

Source: The Hill

A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday condemned President Trump for praising Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) for his 2017 assault on a reporter from the British newspaper The Guardian.

Trump, at a campaign rally in Montana on Thursday, joked that Gianforte's assault on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs had helped him when his at-large House special election in May 2017.

In response to those comments, May's spokesperson said they think violence against reporters is "completely unacceptable."

"He obviously made comments at a political rally and those are for him but more generally we would always say that violence or intimidation against a journalist is completely unacceptable,” a spokesperson for the prime minister said in a statement to the press on Friday.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/412188-british-prime-minister-spokesperson-condemns-trump-for-praising-gianforte

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"Trump’s comments mark the first time the president has openly and directly praised a violent act against a journalist on American soil. It comes as the White House is under intense domestic and international pressure over Trump’s refusal to condemn Saudi Arabia despite growing evidence that its leader, the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the decapitation and dismemberment of the journalist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/18/trump-greg-gianforte-assault-guardian-ben-jacobs

[ck4829]

1. K&R

[karynnj]

2. The Guardian's statement is very strong showing where condoning violence against

reporters leads. I can't think of many statements by a British PM condemning words by a US president - certainly not tough ones.