Homeland Security Dem: Trump retweets make security jobs harder

The ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee slammed President Trump on Thursday for retweeting videos purporting to show Muslims committing acts of violence from an ultranationalist British figure.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said Trump’s actions are making the jobs of U.S. security officials more difficult.

“Though they cannot say so themselves, the president’s actions make the already-difficult jobs of the witnesses joining us on the first panel today even harder. The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and National Counterterrorism Center play key roles in securing the homeland from terrorists both foreign and domestic,” Thompson said at a hearing on domestic terrorism. 

{mosads}”Americans should be able to look to our president for a steady hand and responsible leadership in uncertain times, but unfortunately, President Trump consistently conducts himself in a way that jeopardizes our security and is not befitting of the office he holds,” he continued. 

Thompson’s comments come one day after Trump retweeted the videos, which were originally tweeted by Jayda Fransen, who is the deputy head of the ultranationalist group Britain First. 

The president has received criticism from lawmakers in the U.S. and Britain for promoting the videos.

British Prime Minister Theresa May issued a sharp statement on the retweets Thursday, saying the U.K. would not be afraid to condemn the tweets. 

“The fact that we work together does not mean that we’re afraid to say when we think the United States has got it wrong, and to be very clear with them. And I’m very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do,” May said.