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Hirono, Schatz denounce Trump’s Muslim retweets

STAR-ADVERTISER ARCHIVE

U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz (left) and Maizie Hirono (right) have denounced President Donald Trump’s retweet of three inflammatory videos with their own tweets.

U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz responded to President Donald Trump’s retweet of three inflammatory videos Wednesday morning with their own tweets.

Trump’s retweets of an obscure, far-right British group’s anti-Muslim videos provoked denouncements from around the world, including British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office. The original videos were tweeted by Jayda Fransen, the leader of Britain First, which opposes the “Islamization” of Britain and regularly posts material purporting to show Muslims engaged in acts of violence.

Hawaii’s two Democrats in the Senate joined those denouncing the president.

Hirono tweeted: “I wish I was surprised that @realDonaldTrump shared fake videos made by a white supremacist to incite hatred and violence against Muslims, but it’s the behavior we’ve come to expect from our President. I’m not surprised, but we can never allow this to become normal.”

Schatz tweeted: “I stand with the Muslim community against hate and bigotry. I mean this is obvious but it’s especially important to say it today.”

Hirono’s account @maziehirono has 134,000 followers, while Schatz’s account, @brianschatz, has at least 70,000 followers.

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