President Donald Trump Reacts to the Manchester Attack

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has released a statement regarding the Manchester bombing that killed at least 22 people and injured 59 others. In a speech delivered during his first foreign presidential trip, Trump condemned the attack’s perpetrators, and presented his condolences to the victims and their families.

“I extend my deepest condolences to those so terribly injured in this terrorist attack and to the many killed and the families — so many families of the victims,” he said.

The explosion at the Manchester Arena marks the worst terrorist attack in the United Kingdom since the July 2005 London bombings. It comes merely two years after the 2015 Paris massacre, where 89-concert goers were killed at an Eagles of Death Metal show. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for both attacks.

“I won’t call them monsters because they would like that term, they would think that is a great name. I will call them, from now on, losers, because that’s what they are: they’re losers. And we’ll have more of them. But they’re losers, just remember that… This wicked ideology must be obliterated, and I mean completely obliterated,” he said.

The President’s statement echoes the message he delivered last week, during his visit to Israel and the West Bank. Trump has been very vocal about his stern opposition to terrorism and violent extremism, and has reiterated several times that Iran must never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

First Lady Melania Trump also tweeted a brief statement to the victims: