The south Asian island nation was rocked by a series of deadly bombing attacks on Catholic churches and hotels on Sunday, with at least 190 people killed and nearly 500 suffering injuries.
President Trump’s message of « heartfelt condolences from the people of the United States to the people of Sri Lanka » over Easter Sunday’s attacks lost a bit of its diplomatic grace after the president mistakenly tweeted that the attacks « killed at least 138 million people. »
The tweet, which remained on the president’s Twitter account for over 30 minutes without change, prompted Trump’s critics to point out the error, with some resorting to insensitive jokes about the size of Trump’s inaugural crowd, and others saying they were confident enough to bet that Trump « doesn’t have any idea where Sri Lanka is. »
138 million? pic.twitter.com/JHYu0lgTHr
I feel confident saying I would bet trump doesn’t have any idea where Sri Lanka is.
138 million? Are are high or what?
Thank you trump, very cool! pic.twitter.com/Cv2XiBAQQj
it’s almost as many as were in Trump’s inaugural crowd
Sri Lankans also weighed in, with some similarly voicing disappointment over the gaffe.
