BRUSSELS – Donald Trump said Islamic State’s terrorist attacks on Brussels that killed more than 30 people show he was right to call the city a “hellhole.”
The Republican presidential frontrunner irritated and amused people living in the Belgian capital in January when he told Fox News that lack of assimilation of immigrants had damaged what was once a beautiful place. On Thursday, two days after the worst terror attacks in Belgium’s history, he repeated the description.
“Remember when I recently said that Brussels is a ‘hellhole’ and a mess,” Trump, who has demanded a ban on Muslims coming into the U.S., said in a Twitter posting. “I was so right!”
With a provisional casualty toll from the coordinated suicide bombings at the airport and subway station standing at 31 dead and about 300 injured, Belgian authorities are continuing their hunt for other members of the terror cell. The country’s government admitted some failures in intelligence-sharing and policing and two ministers offered to resign on Thursday.
“It is amazing how often I am right, only to be criticized by the media. Illegal immigration, take the oil, build the wall, Muslims, NATO!” tweeted Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico to prevent illegal entry.
A clip of Trump’s original comments were used in a video from a pro-Islamic State group claiming responsibility for the attacks, according to Newsweek.
His January comments prompted people in Belgium to react with a wave of ironic Twitter postings, with residents using the hashtag alongside beautiful views of the Belgian capital’s ancient streets and parks, or of its renowned cuisine and artisan beer.
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