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 professional writer whose work has appeared in multiple national media outlets since 2012 and exclusively at Salon since 2016. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012, was a guest on Fox Business in 2019, repeatedly warned of Trump's impending refusal to concede during the 2020 election, spoke at the Commonwealth Club of California in 2021, was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022 and appeared on NPR in 2023. His diverse interests are reflected in his interviews including: President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (1999-2001), animal scientist and autism activist Temple Grandin, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (1997-2001), director Jason Reitman ("The Front Runner"), inventor Ernő Rubik, comedian Bill Burr ("F Is for Family"), novelist James Patterson ("The President's Daughter"), epidemiologist Monica Gandhi, theoretical cosmologist Janna Levin, voice actor Rob Paulsen ("Animaniacs"), mRNA vaccine pioneer Katalin Karikó, philosopher of science Vinciane Despret, actor George Takei ("Star Trek"), climatologist Michael E. Mann, World War II historian Joshua Levine (consultant to "Dunkirk"), Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (2013-present), dog cognition researcher Alexandra Horowitz, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson (2012, 2016), comedian and writer Larry Charles ("Seinfeld"), seismologist John Vidale, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman (2000), Ambassador Michael McFaul (2012-2014), economist Richard Wolff, director Kevin Greutert ("Saw VI"), model Liskula Cohen, actor Rodger Bumpass ("SpongeBob Squarepants"), Senator John Hickenlooper (2021-present), Senator Martin Heinrich (2013-present), Egyptologist Richard Parkinson, Rep. Eric Swalwell (2013-present), Fox News host Tucker Carlson, actor R. J. Mitte ("Breaking Bad"), theoretical physicist Avi Loeb, biologist and genomics entrepreneur William Haseltine, comedian David Cross ("Scary Movie 2"), linguistics consultant Paul Frommer ("Avatar"), Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (2007-2015), computer engineer and Internet co-inventor Leonard Kleinrock and right-wing insurrectionist Roger Stone.

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Donald Trump Islamophobia Paris Terrorist Attack Quebec Terrorist Attack