Donald Trump's Response To The UK Parliament Attack

With officials announcing that they are treating the U.K. Parliament attack as a terrorist incident, the entire world is waiting to hear what world leaders will say of the incident, including Donald Trump's response to the U.K. Parliament attack.

Update: According to the Associated Press, British police late Wednesday evening raised the death toll in the Parliament attack to five. At least 40 people were injured.

When BBC first reported the terrorist attack, not much was known. Reports claimed a police officer had been stabbed and "the alleged assailant was shot by armed police," according to BBC. Independent reported that a car also mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and drove over approximately a dozen people. Currently, The Guardian has confirmed that one woman has died in the attack.

The U.K. Parliament attack is scary enough, but with so many unknowns, it's even more terrifying. Some U.K. leaders have already released statements on the attack, including Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and several members of parliament. Their Twitter updates have given the public something to go on as reports continue to flood in.

But two major world leaders have yet to release their statement. The public is waiting to hear what Queen Elizabeth's response to the U.K. Parliament attack will be, as well as President Trump's response. Trump's track record with reporting on terrorist attacks hasn't been great, and many have accused the president of focusing on the wrong subject matter when responding to a tragedy. In June 2016, the president's response to the massacre at Pulse, the Orlando nightclub where 49 victims were killed, was self-congratulatory and seriously upsetting. In fact, he used the tragedy to fuel his xenophobic comments and policies through his entire campaign.

According to Bradd Jaffy, senior news editor at NBC Nightly, earlier today, the president mentioned that "some big news having to do with London" had happened.

But hours after the attack was reported, Trump turned to the official President of the United States Twitter account to release his official statement on the U.K. Parliament attack. It came later in the day, and his statement is below.

According to the tweet, the statement is a readout of the president's call with Prime Minister Theresa May.

President Donald J. Trump spoke today with Prime Minister Theresa May of the United Kingdom to offer his condolences on today’s terror attack in London and his praise for the effective response of security forces and first responders. He pledged the full cooperation and support of the United States Government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice.

With his past statements regarding tragedies, it's no wonder that Trump's response to the U.K. Parliament attack was going to be closely critiqued. Because the world still knows so little of what's happened, it's impossible to truly prepare for what Trump might say after this statement. The public, naturally, will be awaiting Trump's response.