Trump Comment Ensnares Swedish Embassy in Georgetown

A popular Georgetown neighbor, the Swedish Embassy — its House of Sweden near Georgetown’s Washington Harbour is a well-attended cultural venue — was suddenly ensnared in what seemed to be a presidentially-generated fake news story Feb. 18. The incident was the focus of social media and the Sunday news shows over the entire holiday weekend.

It started when, at a large gathering of President Trump’s supporters in Florida Saturday afternoon, the president said: “European countries that have accepted large numbers of Syrian refugees, like Germany and Sweden, are having problems. You look at what’s happening in Germany, you look at what’s happening last night [that is, Friday, Feb. 17] in Sweden. Sweden! Who would believe this. Sweden. They took in large numbers. They’re having problems like they never thought possible.”

Immediately, social media and online news sites responded: “There was no incident on Friday.”

“Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound,” tweeted former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt.

The implication grew over the weekend: the president had exaggerated, even lied.

Obviously, the statement was another example of the glib Trump tongue. But to anyone who had watched a broad spectrum of Friday-night news shows, the reason he said what he did was also clear. On Saturday afternoon, Trump was reflecting on what he had seen on the “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show on Friday night: an interview with Swedish filmmaker Ami Horowitz, who had made a documentary film showing what he called “an absolute surge in both gun violence and rape in Sweden once they began this open-door policy.”

By Monday, Feb. 20, the President confirmed on Twitter and in interviews that indeed he had been referring to the report on Carlson’s show.

The Embassy of Sweden in Georgetown was deluged with calls — almost all unanswered because it was the weekend and the Presidents Day holiday. “We look forward to responding to your questions about Swedish immigration policies,” automatic emails read. At press time, Tuesday Feb. 21, calls and emails to the embassy’s press office from the Georgetowner had not been answered.

Now questions are being asked about the accuracy of Horowitz’s reporting. The film included facts and testimonies gathered by Iranian-born Swedish Kurd Tino Sanandaji. Sanadaji, who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy before joining Stockholm’s School of Economics as a researcher, is well-known in Sweden. His YouTube presentations, media interviews and writings warn about the danger of trying to assimilate large numbers of mainly uneducated young men from cultures inherently different from Sweden’s.

The country has taken in over 200,000 refugees and migrants in recent years, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, more per capita than any other country in Europe. Sanandaji’s new book, “Mass Challenge,” reportedly is not popular with Swedish officials.

“I do not have a clue to what he [Trump] was referring to,” said Henrik Selin, deputy director of the Swedish Institute, a state agency dedicated to promoting Sweden globally, who was quoted widely in a Feb. 20 New York Times story Feb. “Negative reports about refugees in Sweden contain numerous exaggerations and distortions.”

A 2016 Pew Research Center survey found that 46 percent of Swedes believe “refugees in our country are more to blame for crime than other groups.” While lethal crime has been decreasing in Sweden, incidents of rape have grown — although the Times quoted Swedish sociologist Klara Selin (whether she is a relative of Henrik could not be determined) that the definition of rape in Sweden has been significantly broadened, possibly affecting the statistics.

“I don’t know about statistics, but I do know that there is real growing fear even in my small Swedish hometown to walk around at night or to bike through the woods during the day. I know people who have been threatened by refugees but will not report it,” said a Swedish journalist who asked not to be identified. “Sweden is even more politically correct than the U.S.”