Four People Are Dead, Yet British Politicians Fail to Condemn Donald Trump

Several British politicians have failed to condemn Donald Trump after his supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, leaving four dead and drawing widespread shock and condemnation.

The outgoing President, who has been suspended from his Twitter and Facebook accounts following yesterday’s events, shared a video in the early hours of the insurgence, telling supporters, “I love you” and repeating false claims of election fraud. In a since deleted tweet, Ivanka Trump also called the pro-Trump mob “American Patriots”.

Home Secretary Priti Patel initially failed to denounce the actions of Trump, who has been widely accused of encouraging the violence. When asked in an interview with Sky News why she had not mentioned the President and what it would take to condemn him, she said: “I think absolutely the violence should stop and he should absolutely condemn everything that has taken place.”

Shortly afterwards, in an interview with the BBC Breakfast, Patel clarified her position, stating that Trump’s actions were “completely wrong”, and that “he has made a number of comments yesterday that helped to fuel that violence”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the "disgraceful scenes" in Washington D.C. but again failed to mention Trump by name. In a tweet, he wrote: “The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power."

Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg, who in 2016 said that he would “almost certainly” vote for Trump were he American, has so far remained silent on yesterday’s events. VICE World News has contacted the politician for comment.  

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has long been vocal in his support for Trump, even appearing at a pre-election rally in November. He recently lost a £10,000 bet that Trump would be reelected. 

Farage tweeted to speak out against the pro-Trump mob, writing: “Storming Capitol Hill is wrong. The protesters must leave.”

He has not, however, condemned the actions of Trump, a man he has previously referred to as “the single most resilient and brave person I have ever met in my life”.

UPDATE 7/1/2020: In a press briefing at 5PM GMT, when asked whether Donald Trump was to blame for yesterday’s violence in the US Capitol, Boris Johnson said that “insofar as [Trump] encouraged people to storm the Capitol” or cast doubt on the presidential election result, he was “completely wrong”. 

A spokesperson for Jacob Rees-Mogg told VICE World News that the MP “feels very strongly” about the events in Washington D.C. and agrees with the views expressed by the Prime Minister in the press conference.