WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump struck a discordant note Sunday in his response to the terrorist attack in central London that killed seven people and injured scores more.
In a series of tweets Sunday morning, Trump disdained the gun debate in the United States, slammed London Mayor Sadiq Khan and lambasted "politically correct" attitudes as an impediment to security.
Most world leaders had confined their messages to solemn expressions of sympathy and support for the victims, the British people and the government of Prime Minister Theresa May.
As the attack was unfolding Saturday night, the president tweeted an unconfirmed account of events and renewed his call for his travel ban _ rejected by lower courts and now under appeal to the Supreme Court _ to be reinstated.
Trump's initial tweet Sunday implied that safety considerations were being overridden by too-careful sensitivities over issues such as ethnicity and religion _ although May responded to the attack with a call Sunday for tougher measures to fight Islamist extremism.
The president next took aim at Khan, the mayor of London and a Briton of Pakistani descent. Khan, who like Trump often uses Twitter to communicate with constituents, had told Londoners and visitors not to be alarmed by the heavy and visible security presence, saying it was necessary for public safety.
Trump took that as a false reassurance.
"At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!' " he tweeted.
That drew a riposte from "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, who has emerged as one of Trump's harshest online critics.
"It's called 'leadership', Donald," she tweeted. "The terrorists were dead 8 minutes after police got the call. If we need an alarmist blowhard, we'll call."
Khan didn't respond to Trump; a spokesman said pointedly that the mayor had "more important things to do."
The president also conflated the London attack with a debate that flares up periodically in the U.S when mass shootings occur. Trump and many of his supporters adamantly reject efforts to restrict access to weaponry through tighter registration requirements.
"Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now?" Trump tweeted. "That's because they used knives and a truck!"
Social media users pointed out that if gun laws in Britain _ which has some of the world's toughest restrictions on firearm ownership _ were more like those in the U.S. the attackers might indeed have wielded guns and caused a vastly higher toll.
As often happens, other U.S. officials sought to soften _ or flatly contradict _ Trump's harsh online comments. The charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in London, Lewis Lukens, tweeted praise for Khan's "strong leadership ... as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack."
