President Trump said Friday he spoke with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern “to express the sorrow of our entire nation” after 49 people were killed in a “monstrous” shooting at mosques in Christchurch, the country’s third-largest city.
“Horrible, horrible thing,” Mr. Trump said from the Oval Office, where he planned to veto a resolution disapproving his declaration of an emergency at the southern U.S. border. “I told the prime minister that the United States is with them all the way. 100 percent, whatever they need, we will be there.”
Ms. Ardern called Friday “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.”
Authorities arrested the alleged gunman, a 28-year-old Australian.
The alleged shooter posted a lengthy manifesto online identifying himself as a white nationalist who wanted to avenge attacks committed by Muslims in Europe.
Mr. Trump said he hadn’t seen the manifesto and doesn’t view white nationalism as a rising threat around the world.
“I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess,” he said. “If you look what happened in New Zealand, perhaps that’s the case. I don’t know enough about it yet … But it’s certainly a terrible thing.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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