Trump's attack on Britain's NHS system sparks new round of twitter disputes
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Monday attacked Britain's National Health Service (NHS) in a tweet, triggering a new round of twitter disputes with Washington's Transatlantic ally.
In an early Monday tweet, Trump commented on the protests over health care funding in Britain over the weekend in a bid to attack Democrats for "pushing for Universal HealthCare."
"The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working," said Trump.
Responding to Trump's accusation, British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a tweet that he may disagree with opinions of Saturday's marchers, "but not ONE of them wants to live in a system where 28m people have no cover," referring to the US situation.
Later in the day, British Prime Minister Theresa May backed her health secretary.
May's spokesperson, when asked by reporters if May backed Hunt's specific tweet, said that "Jeremy Hunt is the health secretary and of course he speaks for the government on these matters."
"The prime minister is proud of having an NHS which is free at the point of delivery," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by British media.
It is not the first time that Trump's tweets generated anger in Britain.
In late November 2017, Trump sparked global controversy after re-posting what critics say are anti-Muslim social media posts from a Britain-based far right group that allegedly depict violence carried out by Muslims. The authenticity of the videos in the posts has not been verified.
Trump's tweets sparked a row between the White House and May, who said Trump was "wrong" to re-tweet material from a group she described as spreading "hateful narratives."
Trump has also been involved in disputes with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has been outspoken in his position to Trump being afforded a state visit.
Recently Trump canceled a planned lower-key visit to Britain to open the new US embassy in London. White House is reportedly planning another working visit later this year.
